Voting has officially ended in the Anambra governorship election, with sorting and counting of ballots currently underway across various polling units in the state.
The process began around 2 p.m. in polling units 10, 02, and 03 of Amawbia, Awka South Local Government Area, while other locations commenced later in the afternoon.
The election was largely peaceful, with no reports of violence recorded in any polling unit. However, the exercise was marred by allegations of vote-buying and intimidation by several candidates and observers.
John Nwosu of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) accused the ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) of engaging in vote-buying, while Nicholas Ukachukwu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) raised concerns about the intimidation of his party agents.
Governor Charles Soludo of APGA also alleged plots to manipulate the results, claiming that certain political actors had plans to “swap election results” during collation. Despite this, Soludo expressed confidence in the system, saying, “Our people are vigilant, organised, and united. Once the system works, we do not doubt that we are gonna win the 21 local governments.”
Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, also decried widespread vote-buying, stating that some voters sold their votes for between ₦15,000 and ₦30,000.
“I have moved around, listened, and observed what’s happening. What you see predominantly is vote buying, on a scale of ₦30,000, ₦20,000, ₦15,000,” Obi said. “The question I ask is this: a young person who is unemployed, if he sells his vote for ₦30,000, what will he be paid next month when there’s no election?”
A civil society organisation, Situation Room, confirmed reports of vote-buying and said the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was monitoring the situation.
INEC stated that 2,802,790 registered voters were expected to cast their ballots across 5,718 polling units, with 16 candidates vying for the governorship seat.
What You Should Know
The Anambra governorship election concluded peacefully with sorting and counting ongoing across the state.
While the exercise was free of violence, allegations of vote-buying and intimidation dominated the process. Major candidates, including Governor Soludo, APC’s Nicholas Ukachukwu, and LP’s Peter Obi, raised concerns over electoral malpractice.
INEC and observers, however, commended the overall peaceful conduct of the polls as attention now shifts to collation and official results.
