Ahead of the March 9 Governorship and State Houses of Assembly
Elections, voters in Bauchi have urged INEC to ensure that its smart
card readers function effectively.
They made the call in interviews with Newsmen against the backdrop of
several incidents when the card readers malfunctioned in polling stations
across the country.
A voter, Malam Aliyu Manga, decried the failure of the gadget in the
just concluded presidential and national assembly polls when it was his
turn to get accredited at a polling unit.
He also witnessed similar situations in Misau at a polling station.
He urged INEC to tackle the challenges of card readers before the next
elections to ensure a free and fair election.
A politician, Yusuf Garba, said cases of malfunctioning of card readers
were worrisome during the last elections, stressing that such a device
needed to guarantee the credibility of the exercise.
He said that manual verification of voters could pave the way for
electoral fraud, leading to compromise of results.
