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.
“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.”
Source: Premium Times
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