By JOY MBACHI

An Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Presiding Officer fainted during Anambra Governorship election on Saturday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the incident occurred at polling unit 005 in Enugwu-Ukwu, in Njikoka Local Government Area of the State.

The presiding officer, Miss Blessing Egoigwe, fainted at the heat of complaints by a thick crowd of people and confusion as a result of the malfunctioning of the BVAS machine.

The victim was later rushed to an undisclosed hospital for medical attention.

More than 470 voters were denied the right to cast their votes at Enugwu-Ukwu Community ward 2 polling unit 005 in Njikoka Local Government Area following the incident.

The malfunctioning of the BVAS machine and the difficulty for the machine to recognise the voter cards of newly registered voters caused the uproar.

Miss Blessing Okoye, 18-year-old and first-time voter, said that she was denied the opportunity due to lack of functional BVAS that failed to capture her fingerprint.

Okoye said that she was pained over the challenge and felt demoralised in the process and appealed to the electoral body to improve the system.

“My hope to vote to a candidate of my choice was dashed by INEC today.”

Mrs. Ifeoma Iloeze, a 55-year-old voter, said she was unable to vote after waiting from morning till 6:29p.m. due to the BVAS failure to capture her face.

Iloeze said that the experience was painful and advised that alternative way of voting should be in place in the next election as it was sad to be denied the right to vote.

NAN reports that INEC technician was alerted on the situation in the area and he visited the polling unit, but little improvement was made.

NAN also reports that some dead voters were seen on the list of registered voters posted. (NAN)