Osun Decides: Voters stranded in Osogbo as names disappear from register

Several voters in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, have not been able to cast their ballots in the ongoing governorship election after discovering that their names were missing from the voters’ register despite having voted at the same polling units in previous elections.

At Polling Unit 017, Olaniyi Kafayah said her name could not be found on the register, leaving her unable to participate in the election.

Field reports indicated that at least five other voters at the polling unit experienced similar challenges.

According to Sahara Reporters, sources at the polling unit alleged that the issue may have affected multiple voters.

“There are about five people now that have stated similar complaints here. More like a tactic to suppress them from voting,” one of the sources said.

Some elderly voters who had previously voted at the same polling unit also reportedly could not find their names on the register and were prevented from casting their ballots.

One affected voter said she had remained at the polling unit since morning without success, explaining that all efforts to vote since 8:00 am had been unsuccessful.

The complaints rose amid wider concerns over accreditation difficulties across Osun State, largely linked to malfunctions of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS.

Osun State Deputy Governor, Kola Adewusi, also criticised the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, after the BVAS machine at his polling unit developed technical faults.

“Election was going well until the BVAS started malfunctioning and started giving issues and it has slowed down the process leaving many persons not voting,” Adewusi said.

He expressed frustration over unsuccessful attempts to reach INEC officials and urged the commission to quickly resolve the issue to prevent eligible voters from being disenfranchised.

The deputy governor warned that if the BVAS problems persisted, many voters could be denied their constitutional right to vote.