Anambra women protesting over the flaws in the election
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Sunday declared Willie Obiano of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) winner of the governorship election in Anambra.
This followed the completion of the supplementary election in the state on Saturday in areas where it did not hold on Nov. 16.
Declaring the result, the Chief Returning Officer of the election, Prof. James Epoke, said the APGA candidate scored 180,178 votes to win the election.
He said Tony Nwoye of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Chris Ngige of the All Progressives Congress (APC) scored 97,700 and 95,963 votes to emerge second and third respectively.
Ifeanyi Ubah of the Labour Party came fourth with 37,495 votes and Godwin Ezeemo, candidate of Progressive Peoples Alliance, clinched the fifth position with 5,120 votes.
Results from INEC showed that of the 1,776,167 registered voters in the state, 465,891 people were accredited and total vote cast was 442,242.
The results also showed that 16,988 votes were voided and valid votes were 425,254.
APGA’s Willie Obiano
“To declare a winner, the candidate must score 25 per cent vote in two-third of local government; having satisfied this condition, Chief Willie Obiano is now returned winner, ” the Chief returning officer said.
The polling agents of the All Progressives Congress, APC; Labour Party, LP; and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, were conspicuously absent during the supplementary election on Saturday, as the candidates of those parties made real their threat to boycott the election.
The three parties are the major challengers to APGA in the governorship election.
However, although Mr. Nwoye said he would boycott the election, the PDP headquarters in Abuja asked its members in Anambra to participate in the election; a directive that was obviously ignored.
The APC, Labour Party and Mr. Nwoye had called for the cancellation of the November 16 governorship election citing massive disenfranchisement of voters whose names were missing in the voters register and late delivery of electoral materials.
INEC chairman, Attahiru Jega, had admitted that one of its officials sabotaged the election in some parts of the state but that the sabotage was not enough to cancel the whole election.
Before Saturday’s supplementary election, the APGA candidate, Mr. Obiano, was announced by INEC as leading other candidates by over 70,000 votes.
The 16 local government areas where INEC conducted the supplementary election are Aguata, Awka North, Awka South, Anambra East, Anambra West, Ayamelum, Anaocha, Ekwusigo, Idemili North and Idemili South.
Others are Ihiala, Nnewi South, Onitsha North, Onitsha South, Orumba North and Oyi.
Voter apathy was observed generally as youth were seen playing football at the Central School, Nkpor, under the watchful eyes of security personnel; while traders were engaged in business activities at Afor Nkpor Market. In some polling units the turnout was less than 10 per cent.
Security operatives were also seen in their numbers stopping and parking motorists who disobeyed the movement restriction order.
Reacting to the development, the state PDP Chairman, Ken Emeakayi, complained about the low turnout of voters.
Mr. Emeakayi further said that INEC should not have allowed the APGA candidate, Willie Obiano, to participate in the election because of his alleged multiple registration.
He told journalists in Awka that PDP had already gone to court to challenge that action.
“My party has all the true documents from Lagos INEC office ready for the court battles.
“Our source revealed that as at Oct. 20, 2013, Willie Obiano’s name remained on the list as a registered voter in Lagos.”