This comes 16 months after the March 2023 general elections, meaning Enugu South Urban’s wait for representation at the state House of Assembly will not end anytime soon.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has postponed the Enugu South Urban re-run election indefinitely.
This comes 16 months after the March 2023 general elections, meaning Enugu South Urban’s wait for representation at the state House of Assembly will not end anytime soon.
It was observed that as early as 7 am, voters had clustered in the affected polling units but no INEC official showed up.
The Labour Party (LP) candidate for the election, Bright Ngene, who was at the polling centre, expressed sadness over the development.
He said there was no information available to him and his party that the election would not be held.
Ngene, who said the rumour was flying that the election has been postponed, cautioned that the INEC was a creation of the constitution and should act in accordance with the laws.
He said the postponement of an election should follow due process and parties should be communicated to.
However, when journalists called the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in charge of the state, Dr Chukwuemeka Chukwu, he confirmed that the election had been postponed.
“We have cancelled the exercise, that was on Wednesday. We made a press release to inform them that it would not hold,” he said.
Asked whether a new date has been fixed, he replied, “No date yet; we hope that the commission will come up with a date anytime soon.”
The REC in charge of Anambra State was drafted to conduct the election the last time following the suspension of the Enugu REC.
However, midway into voting, some thugs reportedly working for the Peoples Democratic Party stormed the voting areas and destroyed voting materials.
So the re-run election could not be concluded and was rescheduled for Saturday, June 8, 2024.
When contacted, the LP chairman in the state, Casmir Agbo, declined to comment on the issue.
“Go and ask INEC, direct your question to INEC. I decline to comment,” he said.
However, the PDP candidate for the election, Hon. Sam Ngene, said the postponement of the exercise had been duly communicated to his party.
The postponement of Saturday’s rerun is the third time the electoral body has put the election on hold.
The LP candidate for the state House of Assembly Constituency, Bright Ngene was declared winner of the March 18, 2023, House of Assembly election and was sworn in. However, the election tribunal nullified the poll for being inconclusive.
The electoral body has yet to conclude the election more than one year after.