•Report by Kamil Opeyemi
Electorates in polling Units 15, Ward 1, Ikpoba Okha Local Government Council in Edo on Saturday defied the heavy rain to exercise their franchise.
The voters also resisted an attempt by some persons who had the intention to protect the ballot boxes from the rain by keeping them in a safe place inside the polling unit.
“We will not allow any one take away the ballot boxes. Our votes must count. This is why most voters do not like going home after casting their votes.
“We are ready to get drained in the rain for us to vote for candidates of our choice. We usually see canopies and chairs at polling units, but the situation is different this year,” a voter who spoke on the condition of anonymity said
On his part, Mr Anetio Williams, Assistant Polling Officer 1 of Unit 15, Ward 1, Ikpoba Okha LGA, commended the voters for their peaceful conduct.
He attributed the late arrival of voting materials at the polling unit to late collection from the INEC centre.
It was gathered that voting started by 11:59 am and was still ongoing when the rain started about 3:15 pm at the polling unit.
Voting ended at the unit at about 3: 51 pm while sorting and counting started few minutes after with party agents, security personnel and voters observing the process.