By Our correspondent
The Anambra State Independent Electoral Commission (ANSIEC) has said that it only recognizes the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) for the upcoming September 28 local government poll, excluding factions led by Edozie Njoku or Sly Ezeokenwa.
ANSIEC Commissioner for Information and Logistics, Sir Anthony Nnalue, disclosed this during a sensitization programme organized by the International Peace and Civil Responsibility Centre (IPCRC) for accredited election observers and media personnel.
When reminded that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) recognized Edozie Njoku as APGA’s National Chairman, Nnalue maintained that that did not affect the local government poll, stating that the crisis was party’s internal matter.
Nnalue expressed concerns about the reliability of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) deployed by INEC, saying that ANSIEC had opted for manual accreditation during the election.
“ANSIEC is fully prepared for the September 28 election, with adequate security, materials, and logistics in place,” Nnalue assured, adding “We urge voters to participate actively, as their votes will count.”
He assured early arrival of election materials, saying the era of delayed arrival of material was over.
He said nonsensitive materials were already on the way to the local government areas ahead of the poll as of Thursday
He said,”We’re fully prepared and ready for the Saturday election, in terms of security, materials and other logistics.
“We urge the electorate to come out en masse and vote, your vote will count. We’re not going to use BIVAS in the election because of its unreliability. But we’ll use last voters’ register for the exercise.
“One good thing about the LG election is that the voters are familiar with the candidates and will vote according to their credentials.
“Power is acquired, not on sympathy basis. If you work assiduously and win, we don’t have option than to declare you winner. regardless of the party.
He said arrangements had been made to bring down voters in crisis-prone areas of the state to their local government headquarters to cast their votes on Saturday
Earlier, Prince Chris Azor, Coordinator of IPCRC, emphasized the importance of vigilance, citing potential issues such as vote buying, violence, gender discrimination, and over voting
Azor cautioned participants to be alert and avoid confrontations, stressing the need for collaborative efforts to prevent electoral violence and ensure a smooth voting process.
Azor warned election observers never to announce results, saying, “only the electoral management body has the exclusive right to announce results.”
