The call for the cancelation of the November 16 governorship election in Anambra State has been described as misplaced calls predicated on gross misinformation.
A lawyer with the Crusade for Justice, Mr. Richard Nwankwo, insisted that the irregularities that were noticed in the election were not new and that they were as a result of the poor background.
“What is the magnitude of this non-compliance and deviation from electoral norm. I feel these people are not being very fair enough in their comments. We have seen elections conducted and we have seen massive deviations in terms of electoral norms,” he stressed.
He maintained that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had made commendable efforts that should not be jettisoned.
“If anybody is aggrieved with the result, they should take advantage of the provisions of the electoral law,” he said on a Channels Television breakfast programme, ‘Sunrise Daily’ .
“It is quite unfortunate that we are having a recurrence of the same issues, but the issues have been blown out of proportion through the media.
According to him, the incidence were isolated and sporadic and not enough for people to call for the cancelation of the election.
Mr. Nwankwo, however, pointed out that there were lapses on the part of INEC but insisted that they were not enough to call for a fresh election.
“Section 133 of the Electoral Act as amended states that the only way a party can object to an election result is through a petition which must go to either a court or a tribunal,” he explained.
Mr. Nwankwo stated that the election would offer the electoral body a broader perspective in monitoring future elections to ensure credibility.