The Plateau Independent Electoral Commission has extended voting time in the ongoing local government election in the state.

The commission’s Head of Media, Koro Yakubu, disclosed this in a statement on Saturday in Jos.

Ms Yakubu said that the move was due to the unexpected hiccups, particularly the late arrival of election materials to some polling units.

She explained that the voting time has been extended by two hours.

She said, “PLASIEC is hereby notifying the general public, political parties, candidates and all stakeholders that the time for the conduct of the ongoing local government elections has been extended. The election, which was scheduled to hold between 8:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., has now been extended by two hours. Voting will now end by 5:00 p.m. in the affected polling units. This move has become necessary due to the unforeseen challenges encountered in some areas regarding the late arrival of sensitive materials in certain polling units across the state. The commission is actively addressing the issues and working to ensure that all materials are deployed accordingly and every eligible voter participates in the exercise.’’

Ms Yakubu added that all technical hitches earlier experienced with the Voter Accreditation Software in some polling units had been resolved.

She said that the presiding officers of the affected polling units had since reverted to the use of the manual registers for accreditation.

She stated, “Our technical team is working round the clock to resolve this issue and to restore seamless operations. PLASIEC is fully committed to conducting a credible election and we want to assure citizens that every vote will count. No eligible voter will be disenfranchised due to these delays.’’

 (NAN)