WTO chief among people affected as glitches mar Nigeria election

Voting was delayed by hours at polling units across Nigeria on Saturday, as the presidential election got off to a slow start after the electronic system to verify voters malfunctioned at many centers and election workers arrived late.

Voters at sites in every corner of the country reported problems with the new electronic Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, or BVAS, which is meant to smooth out the voting process in Africa’s most populous country. Instead, the devices, which don’t need internet connection, weren’t accrediting citizens — including the governor of oil-rich Rivers State in the southeast.

Nyesom Wike was seen waiting 20 minutes to cast his ballot at a polling station in the state capital, Port Harcourt, while a person mopped sweat from his brow. He was asked to come back later while more than 100 people remained in the queue behind him. World Trade Organization Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala tweeted that she was waiting to vote for an hour but election officials weren’t present.

Meanwhile, at a center in Lagos state, just three people were able to cast their ballot as late as 11 a.m. because of the glitches. Polls were scheduled to start at 8:30 a.m.