A faulty BVAS machine could not dampen voter enthusiasm in Ado Ekiti. Here is how election day started.

There was an impressive turnout at polling units across Ado Ekiti on Saturday as residents came out early to vote in the governorship election, cbinews.tv reports.

At Ward 4, Units 1 and 2 at Saint Michael Primary School in Ijigbo, plenty of voters were already waiting before the 8:30 am start time. That included a good number of elderly residents, which showed just how keen people were to take part.

Voting did not quite start on time though. As of 8:45 am, nothing had happened because the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, or BVAS, packed up when election officials arrived.

Luckily the glitch was sorted out quickly. The first voter at Unit 2 finally cast his ballot at exactly 8:49 am, and that got accreditation and voting moving.

The Presiding Officer, Mutiat Aliyu, confirmed the brief hitch. She said, “It initially did not come up, but it is working now.”

The election has a long list of candidates from different parties. They include incumbent Biodun Oyebanji of the APC, Oluwole Oluyede of the PDP, Oluwadare Bejide of the ADC, Opeyemi Falegan of the Accord Party, Oyebanji Olajuyin of the Labour Party, Blessing Abegunde of the NNPP, and Bidemi Awogbemi of the APP.

Others on the ballot are Ayodeji Ojo for the ADP, Samuel Akande for the AAC, Olaniyi Ayodele for the PRP, Victor Adetunji for the Zenith Labour Party, Olu Omotoso for the Action Alliance, Joseph Anifowose for the Allied Peoples Movement, and Ayodele Osinkolu for the Young Progressive Party.

Political observers are watching the poll closely. Many see it as a key test of voter mood in the state.

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