The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Imo State on Saturday won the elections for all 305 Councillorship and 27 Chairmanship positions in the state’s 27 local government areas.
The Imo State Independent Electoral Commission (ISIEC) has been accused of irregularity during the last local government elections in the state.
The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Imo State on Saturday won the elections for all 305 Councillorship and 27 Chairmanship positions in the state’s 27 local government areas.
In a video obtained by SaharaReporters, the ISIEC Chairman, Charles Ejiogu, announced the names of winners without announcing the figures polled by the candidates and parties that participated in the exercise.
A cross-section of voters on Saturday lamented the non-availability of sensitive materials for the council elections in some parts of the state.
They also expressed worry that ISIEC did not follow the electoral guidelines to call on political parties to submit the names of their agents.
The areas in question include Urualla Ideato North, Ihitte Uboma, Njaba, Nkwerre, Orlu, Okigwe, Owerri Municipal, Onuimo, Aboh Mbaise and Ezinihitte Mbaise.
For instance, National Vice Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for Southeast region, Chilos Godsent, described the election as, “A pure selection; it is not anywhere near the process of election. They did not call for political parties to submit party agents. They have violated the constitution and ISIEC guidelines.”
Also, one of the candidates who spoke with SaharaReporters on Friday said there were no elections held anywhere in Imo on Saturday.
According to him, materials were not distributed to any polling unit or booth.
He said, "When Saturday's Imo State local government election results were announced, there were no figures mentioned. Just ‘winners’.
"There were no elections held anywhere in Aboh Mbaise, for example. Materials were not distributed to any polling unit or booth.
"Why did the ISIEC chairman announce winners but not vote results? They did not publish the register of voters anywhere. They did not publish the list of ISIEC adhoc staff, they did not publish the list of party agents and they did not even publish the names of party candidates.”
"All these were supposed to be done before the election," the source added.
When contacted on the phone for comments on Friday, ISIEC Chairman, Charles Ejiogu, refused to respond.
He hung up after hearing the question asked by our reporter and did not answer subsequent calls.
He also did not reply to a text message sent to his mobile line.
Meanwhile, the State APC Chairma, MacDonald EbereEbere, who spoke to newsmen in Owerri, through his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Julian Chijioke, said APC was extremely satisfied with the process
He said, ”The All Progressives Congress (APC) is extremely satisfied with the process of the Imo State council election. We believe that the Imo State Independent Electoral Commission (ISIEC) has demonstrated that it possesses all the necessary tools and expertise to conduct a transparent and credible local government election.
“The smooth conduct of the election, from the delivery of materials to the collation of results, reflects ISIEC’s competence and commitment to upholding democratic values.”
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