The House of Assembly re-run in 32 wards and 500 polling units in Anambra State has been conducted amidst complaints of electoral fraud and malpractice.
Several inconsistencies during the April 11 House of Assembly election led to the cancellation of the poll in 32 wards and 500 polling units spread across Anaocha, Aguata and Ekwusigo Local Government Areas.
At a primary school in Egbema Ozubulu, Ekwusigo Local Government Area, where there were three polling units with over 500 registered voters each, accreditation with the card reader was successful. Though, the turnout of voters was not impressive.
The situation was not the same at Umuoru Hall in Uga ward 1. The center had five polling units but voters were at daggers drawn fracas with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials who they asked to produce the result sheets.
The suspicion of the missing result sheets was created by the two Supervising Presiding Officers posted to the unit who suddenly disappeared with their cell phones switched off.
The people accused some of the political heavy weights in the community, who they felt were battling for supremacy, as responsible for the electoral fraud.
Uga ward 1 had 25 polling units. The incumbent Senator representing the Anambra South senatorial zone, Senator Andy Uba, as well as the incumbent member of the House of Assembly, Honorable Ikechukwu Umeh, were both registered voters in the ward and are in different political parties.
As the war raged on, many voters left while some in polling unit 023 continued with accreditation.
However, the Presiding officer succumbed to the intense pressure of cancelling the election in Umuoru as the calls he put across to his superiors ended with him writing a report on the election that couldn’t hold due to disruption by party agents.
While voting was successfully done at polling unit 005 at St Peters, voters at Umumonye Hall did not see any INEC official or ballot materials and they were not given any reason for the disenfranchisement.