Anambra State election gravely flawed. (BBC)
The Anambra state in Nigeria’s oil rich Delta region could not hold free and fair elections for a new governor over the weekend. Observers say the election was marred with vote-buying and ballot box theft. There was a lot of election irregularity with many people reporting their names were not included in the voters register. Just about 300,000 people were able to cast their ballots out of 1.8 million electorates. The incumbent governor was declared the winner.
The youth were reported to have manipulated the election process by forcefully taking away ballot boxes, intimidating electorates and physical harassment. The winner of the election Mr. Peter Obi confirmed the irregularities of the elections. He at a point refused to vote because he found out he was the only member of his household registered. Nigeria’s independent electoral commission flaws in elections held in the country and this recent incident is not new. President Yar’Adua promised to reform the electoral body when he was voted into office in an election that was seriously flawed.