It’s election day in Anambra State.
Welcome to our live coverage of the poll which will determine who succeeds Governor Willie Obiano as the leader of the state.
Eighteen political parties and candidates are in the governorship race and voting is expected to take place across more than 5,000 polling units spread across the 21 local governments of the state.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said ahead of the election that there are 2.5 million registered voters and 5,720 polling units in the state but there will be no voting in 86 of them because there are no registered voters there.
Channels TV is on the ground in the state to bring you updates as the election progresses.
You can catch the latest updates by refreshing this page. You can also watch our live coverage on TV via DSTV – Channel 420, or in the UK on Sky channel 518. You can also follow the coverage on our livestreams on YouTube or Facebook.
That’s all for today, don’t forget to join us tomorrow for more updates on the election. Thank you.
CLICK HERE FOR FRESH UPDATES ON THE ELECTION…
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5:28 pm: Soludo finally votes after over five hours
VIDEOS: Reactions Trail Election
4:15 pm: Andy Uba Wins Polling Unit
APC governorship candidate, Senator Andy Uba, has won the election held at Ward 16 Polling Unit 17 in Uga, Aguata LGA, where he voted.
Uba polled 80 votes, while Professor Charles Soludo (APGA), Senator Ifeanyi Ubah (YPP), and Mr Valentine Ozigbo (PDP) scored 10 five, and two votes respectively at the polling centre.
4:04 pm: Voting ends at the polling unit in Umudim Ward 1, Nnewi North LGA. Electoral officials have begun to sort the ballot papers.
3:50 pm: Voting ends at Senator Andy Uba’s polling unit, sorting and counting have begun.
NEWS FLASH: INEC Extends Voting Time Over Failure Of Devices
Update on #AnambraDecides2021
TEXT OF A PRESS STATEMENT BY THE RESIDENT ELECTORAL COMMISSIONER, ANAMBRA STATE ON OPENING AND CLOSING OF POLLS FOR THE ANAMBRA STATE GOVERNORSHIP ELECTION, SATURDAY 6TH NOVEMBER 2021*
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has extended the period for opening and closing of Poll from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm. This revised closing time applies to areas where Polling Units opened after the commencement period of 8:30 am.
In line with existing regulations and guidelines of the Commission, any intending voter who is on the queue by 4:00 pm shall be allowed to vote. All Polling Unit staff must comply with this directive.
The extension of time arose out of several field reports that voters have had problems with accreditation. The Commission is currently investigating the reason the accreditation devices, Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), have worked perfectly in some Polling Units, but not in others.
In some of the cases, it would seem that this resulted from software glitches. Our technicians have already built an update to the devise software to prevent further challenges. The update is currently being installed in the concerned BVAS and we request voters, candidates, and agents to be patient and allow our technical staff to solve the problem.
The Commission wishes to reiterate that in cases of sustained malfunction of the BVAS, the Presiding Officer must inform the voters and polling agents that accreditation and voting for the affected Polling Unit shall continue tomorrow or at another time determined by the Commission.
With this extension of time and the recommencement of accreditation where the BVAS consistently malfunctions, the Commission assures that no voter will be disenfranchised.
Our deployment has also been adversely affected by transportation challenges in some locations. It must be noted that on account of security concerns, some of the transporters that were mobilized and collected 50% of their sign-on fee backed out at the last moment, leaving some of our ad-hoc staff stranded.
Also, some of the trained ad-hoc staff backed out at the last moment. The Commission is on top of these challenges and extant regulations and guidelines will be applied on a case-by-case basis.
Consequently, we are harvesting areas where voting will realistically no longer take place today, including places where substantial disruption has occurred, to enable a possible recommencement of voting at another time, in line with extant laws and the regulations and guidelines of the Commission.
We appeal to all voters, candidates, stakeholders communities, and political parties to remain calm and law-abiding. We assure you that the Commission is determined to make all votes count.
Thank you.
3:40 pm: Voting has ended, and counting is ongoing at the polling unit at the Community Primary School in Amawbia, Awka.
3:12 pm: Only 27 people out of the 717 registered voters at Professor Charles Soludo’s polling centre – Isuofia Ward, Polling Unit 002 – have cast their ballots.
Amid the anger and frustration triggered by the failure of the accreditation device, the governorship candidate who is yet to cast his vote says it makes no sense to vote when his crowd of supporters have yet to vote.
2:21 pm: Voting is still ongoing with a large turnout of voters at polling units 001, 002, 003, 004, and 020 at Otolo Ward 2, Umuenem Hall in Nnewi North LGA.
The electorate want INEC to extend the voting time as a result of the delay in the commencement of the exercise and the malfunctioning of the BVR machine.
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Security Highlight
The election is ongoing amid tight security as personnel of the police, Nigerian Army, and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), among others, patrol various parts of the state.
No case of violence has been reported so far.
12:57 pm: Professor Charles Soludo is already at his polling unit. He expresses disappointment over the technical issue of the bimodal verification device. However, the governorship candidate is hopeful that the situation will improve.
12:46 pm: Obiano Votes In Aguleri, Urges Electorate To Come Out
Anambra State Governor, Willie Obiano, is among the first voters to cast their ballots in the ongoing governorship election in the state.
He was accompanied by his wife, Mrs Ebelechukwu Obiano, to the Ward 4 Polling Unit in Otuocha where the couple went through a rapid accreditation process before casting their votes.
Addressing reporters shortly after casting his vote, Governor Obiano appealed to the people of the state to come out and perform their civic duties, saying that the voting exercise would only last for a few hours.
He commended the voting process, describing it as fast and easy. The governor is also optimistic that the entire exercise will be free, fair, and credible across the state.
Special Moment
A physically challenged woman, Catherine Egbuche, is one of the voters at the Community Primary School, Amawbia, Awka.
Catherine, 70, said she came out to vote for her preferred candidate even though she has yet to receive her gratuity as a pensioner.
12:25 pm: Mr Valentine Ozigbo, a candidate in the election, has just voted at Polling Unit 10 located at Social Centre in Amesi Ward, Agauta LGA.
12:15 pm: Senator Andy Uba casts his ballot after being accredited to vote at his polling unit in Ugah, Aguata LGA.
11:59 am: One of the governorship candidates in the election, Ifeanyi Ubah, casts his vote at Polling Unit 20 Otolo Ward 1, Nnofor Hall in Nnewi South LGA.
He says he is satisfied with the turnout of voters who trooped out en masse to exercise their civic franchise.
11:38 am: At the polling unit 005 located on the premises of the Central School in Isuofia, the turnout is impressive, and voters are desirous to cast their votes.
But the digital capturing device is having a problem and only one person has been able to vote in the election.
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10:58 am: The problem with the bimodal verification device is resolved at Unit 2, Umueze Isuofia in Aguata LGA. Concession is given to the elderly and pregnant women.
10:42 am: Voting is ongoing at the polling unit of Senator Andy Uba in Ugah, Aguata LGA.
10:34 am: Accreditation and voting are ongoing at polling units 10,11,12,13 and 15 located at the Social Center in Amuwo village, Amesi in Aguata LGA. Mr Valentine Ozigbo is expected to vote at one of the polling units.
10:12 am: At Unit 2, Umueze Isuofia in Aguata LGA, there’s been a problem with the bimodal verification device as the major functions of the device are not working.
These include thumbprint recognition and facial capturing. As of 9:56am, only one of the 717 people registered has been captured and was able to vote. Voters are becoming restless, saying they are already losing confidence in the process.
10:01 am: Electoral officials have just arrived at the polling unit of Senator Andy Uba in Ugah, Aguata LGA.
9:58 am: Electoral officials have just arrived at Otolo Ward 2, Nnofor Hall, Nnewi North LGA. This polling centre is where Senator Ifeanyi Ubah is expected to vote.
9:54 am: Voters at the polling unit of Senator Andy Uba in Ugah, Aguata LGA, are still awaiting the arrival of the electoral officials.
However, this man, a civil servant, says he has nothing to worry about as that has always been the situation in the past.
9:50 am: Accreditation and voting have yet to commence at Otolo Ward 2, Umuenem Hall in Nnewi LGA as electoral officials have just arrived at the polling centre.
According to them, the late arrival is due to the delay in the distribution of materials from the RAC centre at Nnewi High school.
9:40 am: The Nnobi Road in Nnewi is deserted as residents remain indoors. There is no vehicular movement, and nobody is seen walking on the road.
9:34 am: The first vote is cast at Unit 2, Umueze Isuofia in Aguata LGA.
9:30 am: Professor Charles Soludo is expected to vote at Unit 2, Umueze Isuofia in Aguata LGA. While electorates trooped in early enough, electoral materials arrived at the venue at about 8:40 am.
No security official was present at the venue as of the time. Accreditation exercise using the new technology of the bimodal verification system seems cumbersome as it takes more than five minutes for a voter to get accredited.
Voters lament that this will negatively affect the speed of the exercise as the closing time for voting is 2:30 pm.
VIDEOS
9:04 am: Voting commences at Unit 10, Amawbia 1, Community Primary School, Amawbia, Awka.
8:31 am: Electoral officials prepare for the exercise at Polling Unit 10, Amawbia I, located within the premises of the Community Primary School, Amawbia in Awka.
8:20 am: Military personnel mount a checkpoint along the Ozubulu Road in Nnewi.
8:11 am: At the polling unit of Senator Andy Uba in Ugah, Aguata LGA, electoral officials and security personnel are yet to arrive at the venue of the election.
People were so scared that they took to their heels at the sight of the vehicle conveying Channels Television crew.
7:45 am: At Nnewi North Local Government Area, it’s a quiet morning as the electorate are still enjoying the comfort of their beds while the streets are deserted.
However, a few residents are seen at the front of their houses in clusters while security operatives drive through the streets.
7:12 am: Electoral officials are seen at several polling units in Awka the state capital setting up in preparation for accreditation and voting.
