We are ready for Anambra election, INEC Chairman assures parties

Tunde Opalana, Abuja

Chairman Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC),Prof. Mahmood Yakubu on Friday declared the readiness of the Commission to conduct next weekend Anambra State Governorship election.

The Chairman gave the assurance at a special consultative meeting with leaders of political parties at INEC headquarters,Abuja.

While every arrangement are in top gear, he said the Commission has gotten the assurance of security agencies of safety of voters, electoral officials as well as voting materials.

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He also said the Commission has interacted with all stakeholders, including leaders of political parties at the state level, the candidates for the election, civil society organisations, the media, security agencies, traditional rulers as well as religious and community leaders, to ensure success of the election.

Yakubu said ‘we have moved all non-sensitive materials for the election to the 21 Local Government Areas of the State. As usual, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is handling the delivery of sensitive materials to the state on schedule.

“Our state office in Awka is arranging for stakeholders to inspect the materials at the premises of the CBN in Awka. As is the case in all elections, the sensitive materials are moved under security escort to each Local Government Area from where they are distributed to the Registration Areas or Wards and finally to Polling Units on Election Day”.

He advised parties to inform their party agents to be present for inspection of the materials at the CBN and to follow the movement of the materials to various locations.

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Stating that Anambra Governorship election will be the first that voting is taking place in polling units since the recent successful conversion of voting points arising from the expansion of voter access to polling units in Nigeria, he said an additional 1,112 polling units were established in Anambra State in addition to the existing 4,608 locations.

“This brings the total number of polling units in the State to 5,720. Voters were encouraged to seize the opportunity of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise to transfer to the new polling units most convenient for them. Many did not do so.

“This can be partly attributed to the security situation in the State which has affected the Commission’s pre-election outdoor activities, including voter education and sensitisation. Understandably, the voters have also been more circumspect in asking for transfer to polling units.

“At the same time, the Commission did not use its powers under Section 42 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) to allot voters to the new polling units in order to minimise the disruptions that may occur from such a decision in view of the forthcoming Governorship election.

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“Consequently, out of the 5,720 polling units in Anambra State, 86 (1.5%) have no voters. For that reason, the Commission will not be deploying personnel and materials to these polling units. Furthermore, 894 (15.6%) of the polling units have between 1 and 49 voters. Election will hold in these polling units”, he said.

In line with the Commission’s commitment to transparency, Yakubu said the Commission has “compiled a comprehensive list of all the Polling Units without voters as well as those having under 50 registered voters.

Copies of the list will be made available to all political parties at this meeting. The same document will also be uploaded to our website and social media platforms for public information”.