The supplementary election in Port Harcourt Federal Constituency 2, Rivers State, on Saturday, suffered high voter aparthy.

Our correspondent who visited some wards and polling units reports that only a handful of voters were seen.

At the St Andrews Primary School in Diobu, Port Harcourt, Ward 11, Unit 24, as at 9:44am only six voters had been accredited; while in Unit 25, only 12 persons were accredited as at 9:50 am.

However in Unit 27, the situation was different as 28 persons were accredited as at 9:46 am.

Also in Ward 5, Unit 8 and 9, Open Space in Creek Road, officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission and voting materials arrived early but as at 9:53 am, no voter had cast a vote.

In Unit 29, Ward 10 of PHALGA which has over 700 voting population, only three persons had cast their vote as at 10:03am, while in Unit 30 and 64, no voter had been accreditated.

In Ward 10, Unit 41 and 42, Mile 3, accreditation started at 8:30 am but by 10:30 am, only four persons had cast their votes in a polling unit with 709 voters.

In Unit 42, as at 10:04 am, only three persons had voted in a polling unit with 704 registered voters. In Ward 10, Unit 71, accreditation started at 8:50 am, but as at 10:07 am, only one person had cast a vote.

Two army patrol vans with armed personnel were stationed in front of the RAC Center at the Elekahia Primary School at about 12:45 pm when our correspondent visited the area.

In Khana Local Governmentnt Area, voting and accreditation commenced in Ward 7, Unit 15 in Bagha cimmunity.

Also in Ward 4, Unit 5 in Sogho commumity, voting and accreditation were going on simultaneously.

Our correspondent reports that earlier, a town crier went round Lumene and Bagha Community, urging registered voters to come out and vote.

In Khana LGA, there was a huge presence of security personnel which several voters complained about, and touted was akin to being in a war situation.

Speaking on the huge security presence, a registered voter who gave his name as Savior queried, “Why is there so much presence of security operatives here?

“This alone can scare voters from coming out. Are we in a war situation? It is not necessary and you can see that our people are afraid of coming out,” he remarked.

But speaking with newsmen, the chairman of Khana LGA, Dr. Thomas Bariere, said the presence of the security personnel was to discourage any form of violence, going by the experience recorded during the main elections which held in the area last month.

Bariere explained, “In order to guide against a repeat of what happened that led to this rescheduled election security operatives would have to be deployed in their numbers to secure the area, election materials and personnel, so that the process will be peaceful.

“The voters are ready and they are voting as you can see they are going to their different polling units.

“Thank God the BVAS is working fine and fast. And we are confident that within the time given by the INEC voting will start and concluded,” he noted. (Saturday PUNCH)

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