Anambra governorship poll must be credible

Election is a celebration of democracy. Nigerians expect nothing more than that in the Anambra State governorship election coming up on Saturday, November 8, 2025. In contention are 16 candidates representing 16 political parties.

Among them are the incumbent governor and candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Professor Chukwuma Soludo; Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu of the All Progressives Congress (APC); Chuma Nwosu of the African Democratic Congress (ADC); Mr. Jude Ezenwafor of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP); and Dr. George Moghalu of the Labour Party (LP).   

 The poll is a litmus test for the new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Olu Amupitan. Even President Bola Tinubu told him so. He urged him to serve with integrity and beyond reproach. The President maintained that all aspects of the election process starting from registration to campaigning, the media access, voting and counting should be transparent, non-violent and credible to maintain public trust in the election.

 Amupitan has vowed to deliver a free, fair, and credible poll which even the loser will congratulate the winner in good faith. He had pledged to uphold the highest standard of integrity, transparency, and discipline in order to restore confidence in Nigeria’s electoral system. He described Anambra election as a defining moment for the commission. He should walk his talk. Good enough, this is a stand-alone poll. It can easily be managed. 

 All that INEC needs to do is to study the pitfalls in the past elections and ensure that such things do not happen in this election. From past experiences, Nigeria’s elections have always been tainted by violence, vote-buying, intimidation and harassment of voters, poor turnout of voters, and manipulation of election results, among others. Even off-cycle polls are not spared. For instance, the September 21, 2024 governorship election in Edo State was marred by all manner of irregularities, including vote-buying, intimidation and harassment of voters as well as manipulation of results. Some electoral officials and security agents were alleged to be biased in their conduct and actions.

 This is partly why most of our elections usually end up in the courts. It is not proper that the courts rather than the electorate decide the winner of elections. If elections are manifestly transparent, there may not be any need to go to court. Besides, credible elections make people enthusiastic to exercise their franchise. Low turnout of voters in recent elections is a direct result of loss of confidence in the electoral process. In the 2023 general election, for instance, over 93 million people registered to vote. Unfortunately, about 25 million people, representing about 27 per cent of the registered voters, cast their votes in the presidential election. This made it the lowest turnout in the history of presidential elections in Nigeria.

 INEC under Amupitan must correct some of these mistakes. It must ensure that election officials and materials arrive on time at polling stations. Officials should not exhibit bias in any form in the conduct of the election. Deployment of technology must be seamless. The Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines must not disappoint. To achieve transparency and confidence in the process, results must be transmitted real time electronically to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal. This is the only way people will accept the outcome of the election. The umpire must be ready to punish any party, candidate or their supporters who engage in any form of electoral malfeasance.       

 Security agents must be apolitical. They must do their work with utmost commitment, patriotism, and professionalism. They must ensure that the poll is peaceful. Anambra should not be militarized because of one off-cycle election. Their duty is to arrest and prosecute whoever is seen to be disrupting the electoral process. Politicians should play by the rules. They should see the election not as a do-or-die affair, but as a contest which will produce a winner and a loser. On no account should they engage in vote-buying or voter inducement.

 The electorate, on their part, must realize that the betterment of their state and the future of their children lie in their votes. They should eschew violence and other tendencies that throw a spanner in the works of the country’s elections. They should not lend themselves to be used by desperate politicians. If they vote against their conscience because of money, it will come back to haunt them. Development of their society should be uppermost in their minds.

 Nigerians expect Anambra poll to be free and fair. It must reflect the will of the people. Let the votes count and let no voter be left out. Preparations for the 2027 general election will soon be in top gear. The conduct of the Anambra governorship poll will go a long way in determining the level of participation of Nigerians in future polls. INEC must seize this opportunity to re-establish confidence in Nigeria’s elections.