A visually-impaired voter from the Kulo polling unit in Balanga Local Government Area of Gombe State, Ms. Naomi Titus has decried the absence of Braille voter slips in the Presidential and National Assembly elections in her polling unit.
She stated on Saturday after casting her vote with the support of her sister that it was really difficult for her.
Titus said she would have been disenfranchised if not for her elder sister that also came to vote but ended up
assisting her to vote for her preferred candidates.
She advised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to make provisions for visually-impaired
voters to avoid disenfranchising them.
She, however, added that “I am happy I voted at last as I had to use the normal voter slip with assistance from my
sister.”
On his part, Alhaji Ali Isa, a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) House of Representatives candidate for Balanga/Billiri
Federal Constituency, said the process had been peaceful so far.
Isa said that although there were reports of the Bimodal Voter Authentication System (BVAS) device having issues
in some polling units which were rectified, voting continued without any hitch.
He said that “apart from that, we are satisfied and we commend the electoral body for improving on previous elections.”
Mrs. Marina Maliya, a People’s Redemption Party (PRP) candidate contesting for Kaltungo/Shongom Federal Constituency
who cast her vote at Galadima 010 polling unit in Kaltungo also commended the process.
Maliya said the peaceful nature of the process is a good sign that the election went well.
The PRP candidate commended women for coming out en masse to vote for their preferred candidates.
