Abia guber poll and a peoples’ determination for perfection

ALTHOUGH Abians, particularly the gladiators in the keenly contested April 11 governorship polls in the state are to wait till April 21 to know the winner of the election, because the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared the exercise inconclusive, its conduct however demonstrated the people’s determination to expand the country’s democratic process.

This was discernible throughout the process, from the conduct of the campaigns, accreditation and actual voting in places where elections took place and during the long wait at the INEC office, Umuahia for the collation of results.

During the elections, INEC ad-hoc staffers were forced to leave some polling units, because they could not provide the result sheets when demanded by party agents, while in some other places electoral officials were locked up to protect them from being harmed by desperate politicians as witnessed at a polling unit in Okpuihe Central School Ward 10, Okporo Ahaba in Isialangwa South local council.

Also the dexterity of political party agents to ensure the protection of their votes particularly Dr Solomon Ogonze of the People Democratic Party (PDP) and Chief Ahamdi Nweke of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) was indicative of the people’s commitment to ensure a better process despite the various imperfections that include snatching of ballot papers and card readers, failure of card readers and inadequate electoral materials at some polling centres.

INEC’s Collation and Returning Officer for the state, Professor Benjamin Ozumba also attested to the fact when he addressed journalists, stakeholders and party agents on Monday night after hours of suspense and anxiety that trailed the declaration of the results.

According to him, the exercise was a testimony of the resilience of Nigerians to ensure that due process was followed in all the electoral process.

His remarks followed the intrigues, dramas, allegations and counter allegations of financial inducements and psychological warfare that characterized the elections, which many said has opened a new vista in Abia politics.

Ozumba, who declared the election inconclusive and therefore did not announce any winner, said figures collated from the votes cast showed that the margin of votes scored by the leading contestant, the PDP candidate, Dr Okezie Ikepeazu, was not in excess of the number of registered voters in wards and polling units, where elections were either cancelled or not held because of irregularities and violence.

In the released results, Ikpeazu polled 248, 459 votes against his closest rival, Dr Alex Otti of APGA, who had 165,406 votes. Ikpeazu led with a margin of 83053 votes, but the figure, according to Ozumba, was far below 179,224, the number of registered voters in the areas where elections did not hold or cancelled.

Stressing that the collated figures could not meet electoral regulations, he declared, “there is therefore no winner.”

The election however made nonsense of ethnic politics going by the geographic spread of the votes scored by the candidates.

The conduct of security operatives especially the police under the control of the State Police Commissioner, Habila Joshak was also commendable as they ensured that there was no record of deaths in during the exercise in spite of the tension and pockets of violence.

Beyond the intrigues and drama generated by the election however, the citizens took charge of the process and also made nonsense of fears of likely crisis that were expressed from the beginning due to the State’s political history.

It was apparent that Abians were yearning for a change and were looking for a platform to express it to an extent that the average Abian in the street seemed to agree with that fact but some of them expressed worries about the roles of godfathers and political parasites that feast on the state’s lean resources.

Those who spoke to The Guardian said the yearning for change manifested at the voting pattern recorded in the elections, which has been described by citizens as the first and real election in the state since its creation in 1991.

They were therefore determined to vote and where they suspected foul play, they resisted it resulting in many cancellations in several wards and polling units, which impacted negatively to the outcome of the election.

As Ozumba noted, the number of registered voters in places where elections did not hold or cancelled doubled the number of excess votes recorded, hence, no winner could be declared.

That violence was already breeding in some parts of the state in anticipation of the declaration of the result because of the allegations of interference in the process should be a serious concern for the people of the state.

Therefore the task of the government before the rescheduled election is conducted is an assurance that the interest of Abia citizens would be adequately protected.