A turnout of voters in Saturday’s Isoko North Local Government Area Constituency by-election for the state House of Assembly was impressive amid complaints about malfunctioning of card readers at voting centres.
The distribution of election materials from the Registration Area Centres (RACs) to the various polling units started at about 7:00 am while accreditation of voters commenced at about 8:30 am in some of the polling units.
The voters, which included youths and the elderly, expressed delight in being able to exercise their civic right.
An electorate, Mrs Aghogho Elias said, “I want to cast my vote because I am alive.”
There were few vehicles and persons on the roads while security personnel manned various strategic locations and polling units.
This was in fulfilment of the directive of the Commissioner of Police (CP), Delta Command, Ari Ali who had, on Friday, issued an order restraining the movement of persons between Friday midnight and 4:00 pm on Saturday.
However, there was a complaint by some members of the All Progressive Congress (APC) over the failure of the card readers in some of the polling units.
They described it as a deliberate attempt to manipulate the results.
Mr Godnews Agbi, an APC chieftain said that the failure of the card readers was a calculated attempt by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to thumbprint ballot papers.
“In Ozoro ward 2, they tore the clothes of one of our agents and it was the deliberate plan of the PDP to thumbprint,” Agbi alleged.
But a Swift response, Mr Nelson Egware, Senior Special Assistant to the State Governor on Media, said that PDP should not be blamed for the failure of the card readers.
“When someone is falling, he usually looks for something to hold on to.
“In my unit, card readers are working and people are voting, there is nothing like thumbprinting of ballot papers.
“l believe that it is the same thing across the wards in the constituency,” Egware said.
The Chairman of PDP in Isoko North Local Government Area, Mr Godwin Ogorugba, expressed satisfaction with the turnout of voters.
Ogorugba, who voted at Otibio Unit 3, expressed confidence that PDP would win the bye-election.
Also, Mr Jude Ogbimi, the PDP candidate in the by-election, who voted at Otibio Unit 2, expressed joy with the peaceful conduct of the election.
The bye-election was for the vacant Delta House of Assembly seat created by the death of Tim Owhefere who died in January 2021 at 57.
Until his death, Owhefere was the Majority Leader in the Delta House of Assembly.
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