The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has been urged to ensure that the August 16 by-elections in Anambra State reflect transparency and credibility, to help restore the electorate’s confidence in the commission to conduct free, fair and credible elections, ahead of the November 8 Governorship Election in the state.
This Saturday, two by-elections will be conducted in the state. One is to replace the late members that represented Anambra South in the National Assembly, Senator Ifeanyi Ubah, who died, while on a trip overseas.
The other by-election is to replace the late member that represented Onitsha North Constituency One in the State House of Assembly, Hon Justice Azuka, who was abducted on December 24, 2024, and later found dead near the Second Niger Bridge few months after his abduction.
The INEC had declared their seats vacant and fixed by-elections for the positions on Saturday, August 16, 2025, while assuring that the people’s votes will count.
In an exclusive interview with TNC correspondent in Onitsha on Monday, the Chairman of the Civil Liberties Organization in Anambra State, Comrade Vincent Ezekwueme appealed to the INEC to conduct free, fair, credible, and generally acceptable by-elections to rekindle the people’s faith and trust in the electoral process.
The appeal, he said, is in view of the group’s findings that the electorate have lost faith in the ability of the electoral body to conduct credible polls in the country, following the outcome of the 2023 presidential election.
Ezekwueme urged the INEC to ensure that in words and actions, they conduct transparent, impartial, neutral and unbiased elections that will reflect the wishes and aspirations of the majority of the electorate in tandem with the constitution and the electoral act.
He also called on the political parties and the candidates participating in the elections to mobilize the people to participate in the process.
“We are appealing to senatorial and House of Assembly candidates of various political parties to embark on aggressive issues-based campaigns, devoid of character assassination and casting of unsubstantiated aspersions on their opponents.
“It is pertinent for candidates and political parties to advise their supporters to toe the path of civility, decorum, and mutual respect, devoid of bitterness and rancor,” he said.
The Anambra CLO boss noted that the by-election will prove a litmus test for the November 8 gubernatorial election, urging the INEC not to blow the opportunity.
“If the by-elections are credible, free, fair, and reflect the aspirations and wishes of the majority of the electorate, they will certainly motivate the electorate to take a more active part in future elections as long as their votes count.
“The CLO in Anambra also appeals to the electorate to vote with their conscience and convictions, a nd de-emphasize monetary inducements, clannish cleavages, religious affiliations, and selfish interests.
“It is no exaggeration, but an existential reality that the elections will be a litmus test for the upcoming governorship election in the state,” the CLO boss posited.
