Voting activity in Ilawe-Ekiti was marked by low voter turnout on Saturday as the ongoing Ekiti governorship election recorded slow participation across several polling units.
The situation was compounded by technical challenges with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) in parts of Ado-Ekiti, affecting accreditation of elderly voters.
A visit by our correspondence revealed that many residents in Ilawe-Ekiti remained indoors or engaged in commercial and domestic activities instead of coming out to vote.
At several polling units, including Ward 2, Unit 3, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials were seen awaiting the arrival of voters, alongside security personnel deployed to maintain order.
However, voter presence remained minimal across multiple locations.
At Ward 1, Unit 4 and Unit 11, where the polling unit of the Senate spokesperson, Senator Adeyemi Adaramodu, is located, INEC officials also waited for voters who had yet to arrive as of midday.
Electoral officials expressed concern over the slow turnout, although voting processes continued peacefully across monitored locations.
Reacting to the situation, a community leader in Ilawe-Ekiti, Chief Folorunso Ojo, attributed the low turnout to declining public confidence in the electoral process.
He urged residents who had not yet voted to come out and participate in the democratic exercise, stressing the importance of civic responsibility.
Meanwhile, in Ward 6, Unit 005 in the Oke Iyinmi area of Ado-Ekiti, voters experienced delays due to malfunctioning BVAS machines.
Electoral officers were seen repeatedly attempting to resolve fingerprint and facial recognition issues, particularly affecting elderly voters.
The technical difficulty slowed down accreditation and caused frustration among some voters.
One affected voter, Mr Gabriel Ojo, described the situation as unfortunate and called on INEC to improve the efficiency of the accreditation system, especially for elderly citizens.
“I came to vote, but the machine is not capturing older voters. We are waiting for it to work so we can vote,” he said.
INEC officials assured voters that efforts were ongoing to resolve the BVAS issue and ensure a smooth electoral process.
