By Ikenna Orioha
The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Anambra State, QueenElizabeth Agwu, has described the just-concluded governorship election in the state as free, fair, credible, and peaceful, noting that there were no cases of death, casualty, harassment, or intimidation recorded during the exercise.
Agwu stated that no political party or candidate lodged any complaint during or after the election, which was conducted across all the local government areas of the state.
She made this known in an interview with journalists at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Headquarters in Awka, shortly after the official declaration of the election results.
The REC commended the efforts of electoral officers, election observers, journalists, and security personnel, whose professionalism contributed to what she described as one of the freest and most credible governorship elections ever conducted in Anambra since Nigeria’s return to democracy.“The election was free, fair, credible, and generally peaceful. There was no vote buying, thuggery, or violence in any of the polling units. Everyone conducted themselves peacefully INEC officials (both permanent and ad-hoc), observers, journalists, voters, party agents, and candidates alike,” Agwu said.
She further emphasized that there were no negative reports from civil society organizations or any of the candidates, adding that INEC remains committed to prosecuting electoral offenders where necessary though none were recorded in this poll.
However, Agwu identified inadequate funding as a major challenge encountered by the commission during the election. She nonetheless expressed gratitude to the voters, INEC officials, independent observers, journalists, political parties, and candidates for their maturity and patriotism throughout the electoral Process.
