Courtesy of SaharaReporters
Chaos
has erupted in Rivers State today, as the electoral exercise in the region has
been threatened by violence. Citizen reporters on the ground have alerted
SaharaReporters to acts of violence and mischief at polling units across the
southern state.
As voters waited
in the heat, reports suggest, tensions heightened. A number of fights are said
to have broken out this morning, and at least one person is reported to have
been shot.
Representatives
at the election monitor CLEEN Foundation have said that gunmen arrived at Mile
4, Rumueme, Obiakpor local government area, Rivers State, and clashed with army
personnel. "Some of the gunmen ran away with bullet wounds, same with the
army personnel, but unconfirmed information has it that one of the army
personnel is dead," the representative told SaharaReporters. "The
time of the incident is between 8 and 9 a.m. today."
A second major
problem in the state can be attributed to issues with accreditation on the part
of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Card readers are said
to have failed in many locations, prompting officials to implement manual
accreditation. In some regions, INEC officials are reported to have not shown
up all together.
Political
mischief has also made an ugly appearance across the state. Ballot boxes across
the country have reportedly been snatched, and materials missing or stolen. A
citizen reporter told SaharaReporters "No INEC official or material is in
Akuku Toru LGA, Wards 15, 16 & 17, and its environs. Materials have been
snatched."
"Be on the
alert that it has been observed that result sheets of some units are
missing," the source added.
Echoing this
report, others reported that a man was caught with fraudulent result sheets in
the region.
These issues
have generated massive attention, as elsewhere in the country, today's election
has been relatively peaceful thus far. The confluence of these challenges in
the state has prompted some local government areas to call off elections.
At the time of
this report, elections appear to have been called off in the Opobo/Nkoro LGA of
Rivers State. Kofi Bartels, host of the program 'Hard Facts' on Nigeria Info
Port Harcourt, tweeted today that the contest in the location has been called
off as the wrong materials were provided by INEC. "Elections in Opobo,
Rivers State called-off," he wrote. "Wrong result sheets sent to the
area
When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)
2 comments:
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Presidential Election is really very important and serious decision for any country because president is top post and electing him is not a normal thing. Thanks for sharing your experience and keep sharing.
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