Voting for the governorship primaries for Peoples Democratic party PDP in Plateau State has commenced amidst protests and resistance by delegates over the voting pattern introduced by the electoral panel.
Journalists were prevented from having access to the venue.
A lot of them, who arrived very early, were still standing outside the venue as at press time.
At the commencement of the exercise by 5pm, the Chairman of the Electoral Panel, Alhaji Abdullahi Oyihoma, announced the voting pattern to be by open secret and that 818 delegates were accredited to participate in the voting.
The grouse of the voters is that there are names on the ballot boxes and as such the government could use it to victimise local government areas that do not vote for the candidate of the government.
Former Governor of the state, Ambassador Fidelis Tapgun, and other senior citizens who addressed journalists protesting the treatment meted to them, also condemned the voting pattern.
However, after sever minutes of protest and intervention from dignitaries, the chairman of the electoral Panel ordered that the labels on the ballot boxes be removed.
But as at 6.30pm, voting was yet to commence.
Oyihoma announced that the original ballot papers were not enough, hence there could be a resort to usage of photocopies.
The matter is being sorted out as party leaders and elders of the party, including former Governor Dariye, Tapgun, Senator Ibrahim Mantu past and serving members of the state and National Assembly have gone into a closed doors meeting.
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