Hot Source
. Commend police, other security agencies for peace and calm in state
. Debunk allegations of vote buying in areas observed
Chiemelie Ezeobi
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) appears to have lived up to its promises so far in the ongoing Anambra governorship election, with reports from accredited international observers indicating smooth operations and impressive voter turnout across several polling units.
The Anambra governorship election, which is a litmus test for Prof Joash Amupitan, has continued on a peaceful note, with moderate voter turnout and smooth accreditation processes reported across polling centres visited so far.
Ambassador Dr. Emmanuel Nkweke of the International Association of World Peace Advocates, one of the officially accredited international observer groups, commended the electoral process and INEC’s performance, noting that logistics and the deployment of technology were running according to plan.
Speaking from polling units 002 and 010, he said: “The turnout is on the average side. The build-up, as it may, shows that the election is peaceful and everything is going as it should,” he said.
“We saw pregnant women, the elderly, and people that are handicapped, these show that people are well informed and eager to participate in the election so far.”
He added that both domestic and international observer groups were present at the centres, including representatives from the European Union and members of the media.
“Another observation which I have made here is the volume of security agencies present. Seven police officers are here, and there has been no violence recorded so far,” he noted.
According to him, accreditation was ongoing smoothly, and the environment remained calm and secure. “We expect that at the end of this exercise, the turnout will reflect the people’s mandate, those who have come out to cast their votes. It is very, very impressive so far,” he stated.
He further observed that as of a quarter past 11, voting and accreditation had continued peacefully. “We are just coming from other places- we visited Opuno, Ezenefite, and some other wards and units. The election has been on the same frequency of being peaceful,” he added.
On allegations of vote buying he said: “As a matter of fact, as an international observer, we don’t report speculations. I have to report what we have seen. We have not noticed anything called vote buying, and if we notice such, we will definitely make noise about it.”
Speaking on INEC’s preparedness and efficiency, he added, “As a matter of fact, we were with the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner yesterday. None of the BVAS machines have been reported faulty apart from one incident, and the technical team was very fast to respond.
“The BVAS is working according to expectation. We don’t know what is happening in other places, but we are reporting from where we have visited so far. From here, we are going to another polling unit. By the end of the day, we would be able to have an aggregate summary.”
Dr. Nkweke further noted the strong security presence and inter-agency collaboration contributing to the peaceful atmosphere across the polling areas.
“About eight agencies are involved, not only the police. We’ve seen the police, road safety, and civil defence officers on ground. You can see the environment is calm. We don’t know what is happening in other local governments, but for now, we are impressed,” he said.
He concluded by reaffirming his group’s commitment to objective reporting, stating, “I have to verify and report only what we have seen. So far, we are impressed.”
