FCT Election Marred By Delays, BVAs Glitches, Say Observers

The Public and Private Development Centre (PPDC) and the Bridging Social Inclusion Gaps Initiative (BISIGI) have raised concerns over delays, technical hitches and voter apathy during the recent Federal Capital Territory (FCT) area council elections, saying the lapses undermined public confidence in the process.

They said at least 40 per cent of polling units observed failed to commence voting at the official time of 8.30am.

At a press conference in Abuja yesterday, the executive director of PPDC, Lucy Abagi, said in several polling units, voting did not begin until close to midday.

She said low voter turnout was recorded across urban areas, including City Centre, Garki, Wuse, Gwarinpa and parts of AMAC, as well as in peri-urban and rural locations.

According to Abagi, many voters left polling units due to delayed commencement and technical disruptions, including BVAS malfunctions and changes to polling unit locations from where voters initially registered.

She added that voter apathy was more pronounced in urban areas, particularly within AMAC, driven by distrust in electoral outcomes and disillusionment with local governance.

Abagi attributed the delays to the late arrival of election officials, the delayed deployment of sensitive materials, and the use of polling units as distribution hubs while officials waited for security deployment.

“These delays discouraged early voters, especially women, elderly persons and working-class residents,” she said.

On the performance of the BVAS, Abagi said while the devices functioned effectively in some locations, about 40 per cent of observed polling units experienced technical challenges, including poor network connectivity and battery failure due to a lack of backup power.

“These disruptions directly affected voter confidence and participation. In some units, accreditation was halted for extended periods, forcing voters to exit,” she said.

Also speaking, the Executive Director of BISIGI, Tina Chidi, urged the Independent National Electoral Commission to mandate the physical display of final polling unit results immediately after counting, alongside the timely upload of results to the IReV portal.

She also called for the publication of detailed ward-by-ward and polling-unit-level results, including full polling-unit codes, to strengthen transparency and public trust.