Lawrence Nwimo, Awka
Voters in the rerun elections for Orumba North/South Federal Constituency and Nnewi North/South/Ekwusigo Federal Constituency, Anambra State, have called for the extension of voting time in the ongoing election in the state.
According to the voters, INEC should extend the voting time to 4pm because of the late arrival of voting materials.
It would be recalled that elections were initially cancelled by the Court of Appeal and a rerun ordered at the affected areas after aggrieved candidates approached the Court seeking for cancellation of the results.
Consequently, the rerun election is taking place in 16 polling units at Nanka in Orumba North Local Government Area to determine the winner of Orumba North and Orumba South federal constituency.
It is also ongoing in five polling units at Nnewi, Nnewi North Local Government Area, to determine the winner of Nnewi North and Nnewi South and Ekwusigo federal constituencies.
According to INEC, the total number of registered voters at the affected polling units in Nnewi North are 97,438 while that of Orumba North is 161,914 voters.
Ikengaonline correspondent who monitored the election observed that the election commenced peacefully after the arrival of officials in several polling units visited in the State.
Also it was observed that voting started at about 9:20am across the voting areas with a massive turnout.
Security operatives; the Army Police, DSS, Civil Defence and election observers were also present to prevent break down of law and order in the voting areas.
Some of the voters who spoke to our correspondent shortly after exercising their franchise, appealed to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to ensure that the true winners of the rerun are announced without fear or favour.