Over 2.8 million eligible voters across Anambra State will today decide who leads the state for the next four years as the governorship election gets underway.
The poll marks the first major electoral test for the new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan, who assumed office on October 23.
According to INEC, a total of 2,802,790 registered voters are eligible to participate, including 140,370 newly registered voters spread across 326 wards in the state. The commission also disclosed that voter preparedness is at an all-time high, with about 98.8 per cent of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) collected.
The governorship race features key candidates such as Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. George Moghalu of the Labour Party (LP), John Nwosu of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Jude Ezenwafor of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Sir Paul Chukwuma of the Young Progressives Party (YPP). They will battle to unseat the incumbent governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), who is seeking a second term in office.
Preparations for the exercise intensified on Thursday as INEC began distributing sensitive and non-sensitive election materials to all 21 local government areas. The distribution, which took place at the Central Bank of Nigeria office in Awka, was overseen by the State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr. Queen Awgu, amid tight security.
INEC confirmed that 16 political parties are fielding candidates in the governorship race, including two women. The commission also announced that all 5,718 polling units across the state will open by 8:30 a.m., with 6,879 Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices configured and backed up to ensure a smooth process.
