Election observers from the Public and Private Development Centre (PPDC) and the Catch Them Young Community Initiative (CATYCOI) have described the 2025 Anambra governorship election won by Charles Soludo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) as “largely peaceful”.
They commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies for maintaining order throughout the process.
However, the groups expressed concern over low voter turnout and persistent incidents of vote buying, which they warned continue to undermine electoral integrity in Nigeria.
Their observations were contained in a joint press statement signed by Abdullahi Rufai Adamu, Programme Officer at PPDC, and Nonso Orakwe, Executive Director of CATYCOI, and made available to our correspondent on Tuesday.
According to the statement, the general atmosphere during the election was calm, with no major security threats reported.
The groups noted early arrival of election officials, timely commencement of accreditation, and effective performance of BVAS devices in many polling units.
“Over the course of five days, from 7th to 11th November, our teams monitored online civic spaces, campaign activities, misinformation trends, and election-day processes. We also engaged communities, listened to citizens, and tracked reactions after the announcement of results.
“From our observation, we can confidently say that the 2025 Anambra off-cycle governorship election was largely peaceful. The conduct of INEC officials and security personnel contributed significantly to the calm atmosphere, and citizens who came out to vote were able to exercise their rights without major disruption,” they noted.
Despite the peaceful conduct, the observers lamented two “critical challenges” that they said continue to weaken democratic participation in the country: low voter turnout and widespread vote buying.
They stressed that while no major acts of violence were recorded, the persistence of transactional voting poses a significant threat to electoral credibility and long-term public trust.
The groups called for coordinated action to address the issues.
“We call on INEC, civil society organisations, development partners, and community leaders to put all hands on deck to address the challenges. INEC should intensify voter education and civic engagement to rebuild public trust and strengthen enforcement of laws against vote buying,” the statement added.
Soludo was re-elected as governor of Anambra State for a second term on Saturday.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said Soludo won in all the 21 local government areas of the state.
INEC ’s Returning Officer, Prof Edoba Omoregie (SAN), who declared the results, stated that Soludo, who was the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) secured a total of 422,664 votes to beat other contestants.
He declared other results as follows: APC – 99,445; YPP 37,753; LP -10,576; ADC – 8208; PDP – 1401; AA -1145; AAC – 292; and ZLP 453, among others.
