Otouke, Bayelsa: Immediate past president, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, after suffering card reading hitches as he and his wife, Patience, faced during the last general elections, called for the review of the concept of the card reader before the 2019 elections.
Jonathan made the call after his accreditation at Otazi Playground Polling Unit 039, Ward 13, Otuoke, in Ogbia local council.
The former President and his wife’s first attempt at accreditation, at about 8:45a.m, was unsuccessful on account of the malfunctioning of a card reader They were later accredited when a back-up machine was brought at 10 am. However, the card reader failed to capture Jonathan’s mother and two other associates.
Answering a question on his impression of the situation, the former President said: “I advise that before the 2019 elections, the whole concept of card reader and the technology must be reviewed. I’m quite worried about the card reader issue this morning. Luckily, this is an isolated, one-state election. But from my experience today, INEC must review this issue of PVC and card reader very well before we go into the next elections.
“In the last presidential election, I and my wife’s PVCs were rejected by the card reader. Today, because they changed mine and that of my wife, it was successful. Five people came with me including a former commissioner known to me in the state. The card reader rejected three others. They could not have been carrying clone cards.”
Jonathan, who looked calm, admonished Bayelsans to be calm and see politics as a duty to bring about change in the society.
He averred that transparent and credible elections are hallmarks of democracy, adding that when elections are not peaceful, they cannot be said to be credible.
Urging Bayelsans to go about yesterday’s poll peacefully, he said whoever emerged governor after the voting exercise should govern the state well.
