INEC commends peaceful conduct of governorship, assembly elections in Bauchi
Story from Ahmad SAKA, Bauchi
The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Bauchi State, Alhaji Mohammed Nura have commended the electorates for the peaceful conduct of the governorship and state assembly election in the state.
Nura who appreciated the electorates while briefing journalists after monitoring the elections process in some Polling Unit (PU) on saturday in Bauchi said he was peaceful and that the voters conducted themselves on all the polling units visited in Bauchi metropolis.
The REC who was represented by the Deputy Director, Voter Education, Mr Aliyu Shaba said he was satisfied with the voting process at the polling units.
“We went round to monitor with you people. We did not witness any challenges. The BVAS are working perfectly and everything is working smoothly till the end of the exercise.
“The voting commenced in most of the places, as early as 8:30 am. The election is peaceful; there is a large turnout of women and youths and the security presence is encouraging,” he said.
A voter at Sa’adu Zungur polling unit in Bauchi, Mr Jibrin Bakinkura said the presence of heavy security and the effectiveness of Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) at polling units made the exercise easy and peaceful.
He explained that the extension of the election date from March 11 to March 18 provides enough time for INEC to configure the BVAS and plan better for hitch free election.
Mr Haruna Bala, Civil Society Organisation (CSO) in Bauchi, said the election was generally peaceful, free, fair and credible.
He said their group members went round to monitor the conduct of the poll and reported that the election was peaceful, and free of rancor across the state.
Mr Daniel Toro, Domestic Observer said the election was so far peaceful in all the polling visited in Bauchi metropolis.
“I want to appreciate the election umpire and security for their doggedness and commitment to see that voting went peacefully.
“You can also see that many people have cast their votes and are patiently waiting for counting to begin, while others are still voting”, Toro said.
Another voter, Miss Hashiya Saidu said the election was smooth and peaceful.
“We came out early to vote for our candidates, we are only waiting for the counting of votes with the presence of security, nothing will destroy the process”, she said.
