Ahead of the 2025 Off-Cycle Anambra State Gubernatorial Election scheduled for Saturday 8th November, a coalition of INEC-accredited observer groups for credible and transparent elections has ranked Anambra high in terms of preparedness for the exercise.
The coalition’s rating came during a press briefing on Thursday on the forthcoming Anambra State Gubernatorial Election.
Their position emanated from the response of over 350 observers deployed across the 21 Local Government Areas of the state, who are currently observing the level of preparedness of all the key actors in the electoral system and their subsequent conduct during and after the upcoming election.
The coordinator, Grassroot Development Centre for Peace and Social Justice, Augustine Okafor, and the Chairman, Initiative for Promotion and Civic Obligation for Sustainable Peace, Sarki Danjuma, spoke on behalf of the coalition during the press briefing in Awka.
On the electoral umpire, the coalition said the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has so far, demonstrated commendable preparation and organizational efficiency in the discharge of its responsibility leading to the November 8 gubernatorial election.
It recalled that the INEC had published the official election timetable and guidelines and issued statutory notices on time, in line with section 28 of the Electoral Act, 2022, as well as conducted Continuous Voter Registration and PVC Collection.
The coalition further commended the timely distribution of the sensitive and non-sensitive electoral materials by the INEC, adding that the transparency with which the exercise was conducted shows their readiness to conduct a free, fair and credible exercise.
The group appreciated the security agencies in the state, as well as the state government, for intensifying efforts to reclaim areas that were hitherto under the control of criminals, applauding the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun and other heads of security under the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), for the deployment of over 60,000 security personnel across the State to ensure adequate security for the election.
“The political environment in Anambra State remains largely peaceful and conducive for credible, free, and fair elections.
“Our observers have reported no significant incident of political thuggery or violence during campaign activities.
“There is level playing field, and the insistence by INEC and the security agencies against the ‘use of incumbency power to the advantage or disadvantage of any political party or candidate,’ as prohibited by the constitution and the Electoral Act, 2022, is enhancing voter confidence and discouraging voter apathy,” the group said.
The observers called on INEC to continue to ensure neutrality, impartiality, and strict adherence to the provisions of the constitution and the electoral Act, 2022, and regulations and guidelines for the conduct of elections in Nigeria
It said, “Notwithstanding the mock test earlier conducted, it is imperative to deploy sufficient and functional Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines for speedy authentication of voters, ensure the electronic transmission of results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) to prevent manipulation of election
“We call on security agencies to conduct clearance operations in the identified flashpoints mentioned earlier and maintain robust presence in these areas to neutralize threats and apprehend potential troublemakers to forestall any security breach.
