The Anambra State Independent Electoral Commission, (ANSIEC) has said that it would not be using the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, for the Local Government elections scheduled to hold on September 28, with the claims that it was not reliable.
The Commissioner in charge of Information and Logistics for ANSIEC, Anthony Nnalue had made this revelation during a sensitisation program organised by the International Peace and Civil Responsibility Centre, (IPCRC), on Thursday in Awka.
Nnalue, while speaking at the programme, (which was organised for accredited election observers and media personnel) had said that the commission would make use of manual accreditation, citing reliability.
The Commissioner had also assured voters that election materials would arrive on time, and that the era of delayed arrival of material was over in the state.
He also said that non-sensitive materials were already on the way to the local government councils and 5,720 ad-hoc staff had been trained to conduct the elections across the state’s polling units.
What They’re Saying
The Commissioner had said,
“Elections will not be held in Nnewi South, Orumba South and Idemili South. Voters from those areas will be voting at the council headquarters. We do not want to risk the lives of both officers and voters.“We urge the electorate to come out en masse and vote, your vote will count,” he added.
In addition, the Coordinator of IPCRC, Mr Chris Azor, had urged politicians and the electorate to be observant and eschew vote buying, violence, gender discrimination, and over-voting.
Finally, Azor urged security agencies to maintain neutrality while respecting human rights and the rule of law.
He announced that the organisation would establish a Situation Room in Awka for real-time coordination and reporting.
