By Gloria Ikibah

The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of Edo State, Anugbum Onuoha has said that the ongoing governorship election in Edo State will feature electronic result transmission, pending network reliability.

Onuoha made this statement during an interview with ARISE Television on Saturday.

Onuoha emphasized that poor network connectivity is the only factor that could disrupt the electronic transmission of results.

“We have a total of 4,519 polling units across the 18 Local Government Areas and have deployed 4,622 BVAS units, with an additional 660 as backup,” he explained.

He also noted that operators for the BVAS have been adequately trained.

“The BVAS will be used to accredit voters and determine the total number of voters at each polling unit. After voting, results will be counted and uploaded to our IReV system.

“We are committed to conducting an election we can be proud of”, he stated.

When asked if all results would be transmitted electronically, he affirmed, “Yes, unless there’s no network. Otherwise, we will transmit them”, Onuoha reassured.

By Gloria Ikibah

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has extended voting hours in some parts of Edo State following delays caused by rainfall and logistical issues.

ANational Commissioner with INEC, Mohammed Haruna, announced the decision in a statement on Saturday.

“We are closely monitoring the Edo State governorship election from our situation room at the National Headquarters in Abuja.

“While voting started early in many polling units, there are reports of late commencement in certain areas”, Haruna said.

To prevent voter disenfranchisement, Haruna emphasized that voting would continue in affected areas beyond the official closing time.

“As per our regulations, voting will be extended in locations where it started late, and will continue until the last person in line by 2:30 p.m. has cast their vote”, he added.

INEC also assured that backup power generators would be deployed to polling units or collation centers facing power issues.

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Olumide Akpata, Labour Party (LP) candidate in the ongoing Edo State Governorship Election has been beaten in his polling unit (P Akpata voted at Ward 6, PU 11 in Oredo local government area of the State.

Akpata’s polling unit was won by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) with 41 votes. The Labour Party candidate polled 32 votes while the All Progressives Congress (APC) polled 19 votes at the PU.

Akpata after casting his vote had adjudged the process at the polling unit as credible. Speaking with journalists after voting at about 10:30 am, Olumide said “I voted according to the voting process and everything went well.

“I want to hope that this is the experience of every Edo voter. I cannot make assumptions standing here. I am going to wait for feedback from around the different units and 192 wards in the state. We are hopeful that this will be the experience of every Edo voter

“I am calling on INEC that the playing field should remain level. Nobody should be given any undue advantage. All party agents should be allowed into the collation centres, so that we can all witness the process.

“Edo election is an off cycle election so INEC should have the luxury of deploying it’s resources to show the world that they can do it well. The playing field should be totally levelled to allow the best man or women to win.

“I am hearing some concerning feedback from around the state but I cannot make any statement until I verify the source of my information. We have crossed one hurdle, I have voted and my supporters should be allowed to vote, he said”.

He added that the deployment of tight security personnel was good, but he however expressed concerns if the security were for the voters or certain individuals.