Voting has been put on hold at some polling units in Egor Local Government Area of Edo State due to non-functional smart card readers.
Some of the affected voters, who spoke with SaharaReporters, blamed the Independent National Electoral Commission for being unable to exercise their franchise.
Some of the polling units affected are Amegor School (Unit 4 and 5), Uwuelu Secondary School (Unit 5) both in Egor Local Government Area.
A disappointed voter said the polling officers asked him to wait for another smart card reader to be brought from the headquarters of INEC in the state.
“When I got here, the officer said the card reader was not working.
“He said he has informed them at the headquarters in Benin and I should wait.
“Election is almost over and many of us are still unable to cast our votes,” he said.
Another woman, who was also affected, said voters were patiently expecting the replacement of the faulty card readers.
“We have been waiting. They said card reader is not working but they have informed the technical unit at the INEC office.
“We hope the INEC officials will get here on time so we can vote,” she said.
Confirming the difficulties posed by the card readers, a presiding officer, who pleaded anonymity, said they resorted to use manual accreditation for some of the voters.
“People voted manually but we are still hoping to get a backup card reader from INEC so that others can vote before the election ends,” she said.
