FCT Polls: Voter Apathy Hits AMAC, Officials Beg Citizens To Vote

The Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) election is being marred by a wave of voter apathy on Saturday, as residents across several wards stayed away from polling units, leaving officials with little to do and prompting desperate pleas for citizens to exercise their franchise.

Our reporter, who visited numerous polling units across the council, observed a striking absence of voters.

In many locations, the electoral process appeared to be happening in a vacuum, with officials waiting idly for a crowd that was yet to arrive.

The situation was particularly dire at Polling Unit 110, adjacent to GSS Garki, where only three voters were sighted.

The process was further hampered by a lack of ink for thumbprinting, putting the presiding officer in a predicament.

In a moment that captured the day’s struggles, the official was overheard begging a policeman attached to the unit to help find water to salvage the remaining ink so an elderly woman could cast her vote.

The policeman, visibly frustrated, declined to assist and voiced his displeasure with the electoral body.

“See what INEC has brought us. They get so much money to conduct this election, and they cannot even provide basic materials like ink for the few people who bothered to show up,” the officer said.

The low turnout was a consistent theme across the capital city. At Polling Unit 115, located opposite the Garki General Hospital in Area 10, officials confirmed that out of 44 voters expected on their rolls, only three people had managed to vote as of 10:00 a.m.

Further along Tafawa Balewa Way, the scene at Polling Unit 041, Area 3, Garki (behind Sterling Bank), was even more stark. Of the 10 voters expected, none had turned up by 10:05 a.m., leaving the polling station ghostly quiet.

The most glaring example of the apathy was recorded at Polling Unit 12, situated in front of the University of Abuja Sustainable Development Center, Area 3, Garki. Despite a registered voter population of 1,900, only 20 people had cast their ballots by 10:30 a.m.

Speaking with our correspondent, a presiding officer from one of the affected units, who pleaded for anonymity, expressed deep concern over the lack of interest.

He suggested that a pervasive sense of powerlessness among the electorate might be to blame.

“Sincerely, we did not expect the turnout to be this poor at this time. We have about 1,900 voters to accredit and attend to, but surprisingly, not more than 20 have turned out since we started accreditation at 8:45 a.m., and now it’s already 10:30 a.m.

“It is obvious there is a serious voter apathy in this election. We thought by now we would have processed almost half of our accredited voters, but the reverse is the case,” he said.

When asked for the reason behind the empty polling booths, the official added, “The reason for it, I can’t really say. But perhaps it is because many people feel that the winners are already predetermined. They don’t believe their vote will count, so they don’t see a reason to come out.”

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