Lawrence Nwimo, Awka
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has told people of Anambra State to expect nothing short of free, fair, transparent and credible Governorship election come November 8, 2025 in the state.
Addressing journalists at the INEC state headquarters Awka, the state INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Dr. Queen Elizabeth Agwu, said the commission is leaving no stone unturned in ensuring that forthcoming elections in the state is free of any malpractice.
She said the commission is ready to conduct the upcoming gubernatorial election, as well as the outstanding by-elections to fill the vacant seats resulting from the demise of the Senator representing Anambra South Senatorial District, the late Senator Ifeanyi Ubah and the member representing Onitsha North One Constituency in the State Assembly, Hon. Justice Azuka.
She assured that the commission will provide level play ground for all candidates and political parties, insisting that INEC has no preferred candidates in any of the elections.
“We are preparing seriously for the coming November 8, 2025 Anambra State governorship election. I want to use this medium to assure Anambrarians that INEC has no anointed candidate or preferred candidate for that election.
“We are going to provide a level playing ground for all the political parties to test their popularity among the electorate; we are going to make sure that Anambra people chose their governor because they are the people whoever is selected will govern,” REC Agwu stated.
She further maintained that the commission had gone further to upgrade all its technological facilities that would be deployed for the conduct of the governorship election to make sure that the exercise would be hitch-free.
“We have been meeting both at the state and federal levels to review all the hitches experienced in the 2023 general election, especially with the issue of BIVAS malfunction in some states, and, we are upgrading all the technological equipment to make sure that the coming elections are hitch-free.
“The use of technology requires upgrading. So, that’s what the commission has been doing since after the 2023 general election so that we can attain perfection in our electoral process,” REC Agwu stated.
She, however, warned politicians against trying to compromise electoral processes, warning that such unscrupulous people would be exposed.
Dr Agwu commended the media in the state whom, she noted, assisted the commission during the last general election with accurate reportage of its activities.
“We did not have misinformation on our activities during the last general election. I am grateful to the media in the state. This is probably because we did not hide any information from the media or because I am one of you. So, I am very grateful to the media in this state.
“The only misinformation we had was later retracted by the two media houses. This time, I want to plead with the media to continue to collaborate with the commission by reporting accurately what we are doing. And if you find any official of the commission doing anything that would compromise the election, expose the person to me. And I assure you, the person will go for it.”
She also commended the security agencies for their vital roles during elections.
On the number of voters that would participate in the coming elections, the governorship and by-elections, the REC said the exact figure would be made public later, but assured it would be higher than the number declared in the last general election.
According to her, more eligible voters might have registered since after the last general election, while some who were resident outside the state might transfer their voting points to the state ahead of the coming governorship election.
She added that some voters might have died, and, so would not participate in the election.
