ANAMBRA LG POLL: ELECTORAL OFFICERS, VOTERS FIGHT OVER RESULTS SHEETS

Violence broke out in some parts of Anambra State on Saturday during
the election held to elect local government chairmen and councillors.
At Nkwelle, Awka South Local Government Area, ballot materials were
burnt when a fight broke out because polling officers failed to
produce result sheets.
It was a similar story at Igwebeze Primary School, Ifite, Awka where
some party agents insisted that voting would not commence unless the
result sheets were made available.
The Presiding Officer for the Igwebeze polling unit 2, Mr. Jude
Onwubiko, however pleaded with the agents and voters to let the voting
process contimue, explaining that the results sheets were being
brought by the supervisory presiding officer.
There was also violence at Igboukwu Town Hall, Fegge, Onitsha, where
some youths protested against alleged thumb-printing by members of a
particular political party.
All the polling units visited by our correspondent did not have results sheets.
Besides, the election started very late across the state. Though the
process was supposed to begin at 8am, voting generally began at about
noon when materials arrived the polling units.
The turnout was generally low as three of the five major political
parties boycotted the poll, complaining of lack of transparency by the
Anambra State Independent Electoral Commission.
Only the ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance and the Labour Party
had their agents in most of the polling stations monitored while PDP
had agents in a few others.
However election began early at Onitsha North ward 14 especially at
the Jubilee Hotel polling unit, where election started at 8am while
materials arrived by 12 noon at the Central Police Station, CPS,
polling unit by American quarters.
The PDP councillorship candidate, Beatrice Onuchukwu, faulted the late
arrival of electoral materials in her ward, describing it as a
calculated attempt by the ruling APGA to rig the election in favour of
the party.