YENAGOA (Sundiata Post) – Former President, Goodluck Jonathan, challenged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to improve on the functionality
of card readers to ensure that there were no further hitches on voter accreditation ahead of the 2019 general elections.
Jonathan, who cast his vote at 1.40 pm, also urged the people of Bayelsa State to be peaceful, saying: “In every election, there must be a winner and there must be a looser. While the winner celebrates, the loser laments. But the winner must carry the looser alone.”
However, addressing reporters earlier after his accreditation in his home town, Otuoke, for today’s governorship election in the state, the former President expressed his displeasure over the fact that the card readers continued to fail even in isolated elections. He noted that he came to the polling booth with his wife, mother and two other prominent figures but only two of them (himself and his wife) were accredited through the electronic method.
The President said: “The issue of card reader is of concern again even in this Bayelsa governorship election. For instance, we are five that came out to be accredited but only my wife and I were accredited. The other people are prominent people with authentic permanent voter cards, yet the card could not identify their fingerprints.”
“I am quite worried about the PVCs. From my experience today INEC must review this issue of PVCs and card readers very well before we go into 2019 elections. I will advise that before we go into the 2019 elections the whole concept of card reader and its technology must be properly reviewed.
“This is a learning process. I believe before the next elections, things will improve. The idea of the card reader is okay, but it must be acceptable. The card reader is creating more problems than it solves.”
He said further: “Credible elections are the hallmark of democracy. When elections are not credible and peaceful we cannot elect leaders who are accountable to the people. Votes of the citizens must count. For this to happen I am advising the people of Bayelsa State to be calm as they exercise their civic right.”
The former President who had wanted to be one of the very first to be accredited, had approached polling unit 039, Ward 13 in Ogbia local government area, located close to his Otuoke residence at about 8:20 a.m, but was quickly urged by the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state, Baritor Kpagih, to return home on account of
malfunctioning card reader.
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He returned to the polling unit by 10am when the card reader eventually accepted data of the former president and his wife but failed to read his the biometrics of his mother and two other associates.