By Abubakar Yunusa
The former All Progressives Congress chairmanship candidate for Bwari Area Council, Haruna Audi, on Saturday publicly displayed his ballot paper after voting in the ongoing Federal Capital Territory area council elections.
Audi cast his vote at about 9:33am at Polling Unit 001, Ushafa Primary School, and moments later showed his marked ballot to journalists.
Guidelines by the Independent National Electoral Commission prohibit voters from revealing their ballot choices, as voting is meant to be secret.
Audi’s action came days after the Supreme Court of Nigeria nullified his candidacy and affirmed Joshua Ishaku as the lawful APC candidate for the poll.
Speaking after voting, Audi maintained loyalty to the APC despite the judgement.
“By the grace of God, the process is peaceful. The only challenge we have is that people are not coming out,” he said, lamenting low turnout at the polling unit.
He added, “I was the party candidate. The Supreme Court gave us their own candidate for the position of chairmanship. But because I am a party man and I want progress for this country, I have come out to vote and encourage people to vote.”
Audi said he had personally urged his supporters to participate in the election.
“If they love me, let them come out to vote. That is why I came out so they can see that I am ready to vote and encourage them,” he stated.
On the accreditation process, he commended the use of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, saying it was an improvement on previous exercises.
“I came, they checked my card, snapped me, and I voted. I didn’t even spend up to 30 minutes. The whole process was successful,” he said.
As of the time of filing this report, turnout at the polling unit remained sparse, though electoral officials and security personnel were on ground.
In a 4-1 majority judgement delivered five days to the election, the apex court held that Ishaku was validly nominated and ordered that his name be published as the APC candidate, setting aside an earlier decision of the Court of Appeal which had recognised Audi.
The Bwari chairmanship race is one of six area council elections being conducted across the FCT.
