Anambra election: INEC clears 35 candidates

The state Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, Nkwachukwu Orji, said this at a civil society group forum in Awka. Mr. Orji told participants that ‘‘candidates who held their primaries without the consent of their political parties would not participate in the election.’’ Mr. Orji was quoted as saying that the Biafran agitation, discontent and security implications were key considerations of the agency. ‘‘The Biafra agitation, general discontentment in the South-east and the security challenges are the three elements that would define the election and may rub-off on the electoral process,” he said. He noted that the challenges facing the commission included funding, erratic power supply, bureaucratic delays and discontentment on the part of voters, but assured that the commission had the ability to scale through. ‘‘The commission requires 20, 000 personnel to conduct a hitch-free and successful governorship election in the state and has promised that the voters’ register containing the 2 million people who registered to vote would be published in three weeks’ time,” he said. Earlier, the Executive Director, Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre, PLAC, Clement Nwankwo, cautioned against any heavy deployment of the military during the election which according to him might scare voters from freely exercising their franchise.]]>