Over 2.8 million voters will vote in today’s election to determine the next governor of Anambra State, who will serve a four-year term.
This governorship election marks the first to be held under the leadership of the new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, who took office on October 23.
The election is widely viewed by observers as a crucial test of INEC’s capacity to conduct a free and fair poll and a demonstration of its commitment to electoral reforms.
INEC confirmed that a total of 2,802,790 registered voters are eligible to participate. This figure includes 140,370 newly registered voters across the state’s 326 wards.
With about 98.8 per cent of Permanent Voter Cards collected, candidates of the major political parties – Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu (All Progressives Congress), Dr George Moghalu (Labour Party), John Nwosu (African Democratic Congress), Jude Ezenwafor (Peoples Democratic Party), and Sir Paul Chukwuma (Young Progressives Party) – are jostling to wrest power from the incumbent, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, who is seeking re-election.
The commission also indicated that 16 political parties fielded candidates for the governorship race, including two women.
INEC confirmed that all 5,718 polling units would open at 8.30am today, with 6,879 BVAS devices configured and backed up, and over 24,000 trained ad hoc staff ready to serve.
INEC officials began distributing sensitive and non-sensitive materials to all local government areas on Thursday.
The exercise, which took place at the Central Bank of Nigeria office in Awka, was supervised by the State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr Queen Awgu, under heavy security.
Awgu explained that key materials, including the BVAS, Forms EC8A, and Forms EC8B were being transported to registration area centres ahead of the poll.
“The idea is to ensure that the election starts as scheduled; that is the only way the process can go on without delay,” she added.
She urged residents to come out en masse to exercise their franchise, rather than staying at home under the assumption that their votes would not count or that their preferred candidate had already won.
On Friday, the Anambra State Police Command announced total restriction of vehicular movement in and out of the state during the election.
The spokesman for the police command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, said the restriction would take effect from 12am to 6pm.
Ikenga said the restriction applied to all forms of motorised transportation.
The statement read in part, “The decision is aimed at preventing the movement of political thugs and other criminal elements who may attempt to disrupt the electoral process.”
He, however, advised all interstate travellers intending to pass through any part of the state to take alternative routes during the period.
According to him, only persons on essential duties such as designated INEC officials, accredited journalists and election observers, medical personnel, emergency responders and essential services providers would be exempted.
Also, the INEC Chairman, Amupitan, during a press conference in Abuja said four National Commissioners were in Anambra to personally supervise the election, supported by 10 Resident Electoral Commissioners specially deployed from across the country.
Amupitan noted that registered voters in the six registration areas facing some security challenges in Ihiala LGA would vote safely and securely at the council secretariat, protected by security agencies.
“Anyone attempting violence, vote-buying, intimidation, or ballot interference will face swift, lawful consequences,” he said.
Police Commissioner Abayomi Shogunle, disclosed that the number of security personnel deployed for the poll had been increased from 45,000 to 55,000 officers.
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