The governorship election in Anambra State could not be concluded on Saturday.
This followed serious logistics problems encountered by the Independent National Electoral Commission in the conduct of the election.
In some areas, especially those labelled as strongholds of the All Progressives Congress, which is fielding Dr. Chris Ngige for the election, materials did not arrive early.
Owing to this, INEC late on Saturday announced the cancellation of election in 65 polling units.
However, the APC has called for the cancellation of elections in four local government areas, saying it was not just the 65 polling units that were seriously affected.
The spokesman of INEC in Anambra State, Frank Egbo, said: “The election was cancelled because of logistics issues.
“The elections will be conducted Sunday (today) in those areas.”
But the APC, in a statement by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the cancellation of the election in only 65 polling units will not address the massive disenfranchisement of its supporters.
It demanded for the conduct of fresh elections in Idemili North, Idemili South, Awka South and Ihiala Local Government Areas.
The party said: “In Idemili North, which has the highest number of registered voters at 173,832, voting materials did not arrive as 2 pm, when voters ought to have cast their votes; In Idemili South, with registered 85,731 voters, several qualified voters were disenfranchised as their names did not appear on the voters’ register; In Awka South, with 118,312 registered voters, the names of APC supporters were expunged from the voters’ register and in Ihiala, massive fraudulent practices were recorded at Uli Ward 1 polling unit and Umuchima polling unit 14.
“Aside from Ihiala Local Government Area, the three local councils above comprise 377, 875 of the total 1, 784, 536 registered voters.”
The party described the affected areas as home to its support base.
The party said nothing short of fresh elections in the three local government areas and the cancellation of the results in the listed polling units in Ihiala Local Government Area would be acceptable to it.
In their separate reactions to the conduct of the election, the candidates in the main faulted INEC’s performance.
In his reaction, Ifeanyi Ubah, the candidate of the Labour Party, said in Otolo Nnewi Ward 1 that he had no reason to fault the election until the results were released.
Ubah said: “I am hopeful they will do well.
“For now, no complaint,.”
Similarly, the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, Willie Obianor, expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the election.
However, the candidate of the APC, Senator Chris Ngige, accused INEC of betrayal by the “shoddy manner” it conducted the election.
Ngige accused the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Prof. Chukwuemeka Onukogu, of rigging, saying he singlehandedly went to the Central Bank of Nigeria to collect the voting materials without party agents.
Ngige said the voters’ register given to the parties by INEC before the election was not the same with the one they saw in the election proper as some names were missing.
Ngige alleged that in areas considered to be his strongholds, voting materials were brought without result sheets, stating that he was still watching the situation.
He also said that in his ward in Alor community and other communities in Idemili North and Idemili South Local Government Areas, accreditation was delayed to disenfranchise the people.
In his reaction, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Tony Nwoye, said he was disappointed at the disappearance of his name from the voters’ register.
Nwoye said: “I am disappointed at the turn of events here.
“I was here as early as 8am to be accredited with my father and uncle, but found out that our names were missing in the INEC register.
“I was an honourable member candidate for Anambra East and West in 2011 and I voted in this same polling unit.
“At which point did my name get missing from the register?”
Nwoye berated INEC for the mistake and wondered how the commission would perform in 2015 if it failed to get it right in a state election.
“The development does not augur well for the country since INEC cannot get it right in an isolated election,” he said.
The candidate, however, said he was sure of victory in spite of the shortcoming.
On his part, the candidate of the Peoples Progressive Alliance, Godwin Ezeemo, criticised the late start of accreditation in his area.
Ezeemo called on INEC to ensure that people were not disenfranchised by its own action.
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