23rd February, 2019
Smart card reader has rejected the thumbprint of Gov. Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa, amidst reports of delays in the arrival of election materials in some parts of the state.
Dickson was however allowed to vote at Ward 2 unit 5 in Orerewari, Toru Orua, Sagbama Local Government Area at about 10.35 am after several unsuccessful trials on the card reader.
The governor was allowed to vote after his Permanent Voter Card (PVC) was read manually and his name, signature and phone number were documented.
Speaking after voting, Dickson noted that the failure of the smart card to read his thumbprint was not new as it had occurred in the 2015 elections.
He said that despite earlier complaints to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) the glitches with the card reader had persisted.
The governor expressed concerns over the reported cases of electoral violence in Nembe Basambri, Southern Ijaw and Ekeremor areas of the state.
In Sagbama Local Government Area, there was low turn-out of voters in most of the pooling units visited by a news correspondent.
A voter, Ebidebuomo Juliet, however, said that she was satisfied with the conduct of the polls in Sagbama area.
Voting commenced two hours late in some areas in Yenagoa metropolis while in Ogbia Local Government Area, elections began as scheduled with an impressive turn-out of voters.