Chinedum Elekwachi
The Centre for Transparency Advocacy (CTA) has expressed concerns over inadequate welfare arrangement for police personnel deployed for the Anambra election by the police leadership.
The group said some officers complained of having nowhere to bath, while others complained of sleeping in open fields since they arrived the state.
Expert team member of CTA, Prof Alex Asigbo of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University raised the alarm while addressing newsmen in Awka on Saturday on preliminary statement on observation of the election conduct.
According to him, some of the officers also complained they were yet to be paid their allowances, except the N1,000 budgeted for snacks for police by the INEC.
Asigbo also lamented increased cases of vote buying during the exercise, regretting the new dimension the menace had assumed, namely cash transfers, food vouchers, name and account details collation.
He called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), security agencies and other stakeholders to work out measures to effectively address the ugly phenomenon.
“Vote buying and selling reports from observers indicated that in many of the polling units, vote buying and selling was becoming brazen and was a major feature of the Anambra election.
New dimension of vote buying
“Vote buying also assumed a new dimension, cash transfers, food vouchers, name and account details collation.
“In some cases, these acts were perpetrated in full public glare and in the presence of security personnels.
“Given the mutative nature of vote buying and selling, the phenomenon appears far from being eradicated from the polity.
“INEC, the security agencies and other stakeholders need to work out measures to effectively address this ugly phenomenon.”
CTA also bemoaned reported cases of Ad hoc staff closing polls and announcing results at 2:19pm as against INEC stipulated time of 2:30pm, an action it noted might have disenfranchised some eligible voters.
“Our observers reported that INEC officials in line with the electoral guidelines gave preferences to pregnant women, nursing mothers, PWDs and the elderly.
“Reports from our observers across polling units showed that the BVAS worked well in over 80 percent of the polling units, except for a few cases where some voters where not accredited by BVAS or whose names were not on the register where they presented themselves.
“There were reported cases of Ad hoc staff closing polls and announcing results at 2:19pm as against INEC stipulated time of 2:30pm, an action which may have disenfranchised some eligible voters.
“However, as at 4:48pm, 3, 861 results has been uploaded to iREV, representing 67 percent,” the group revealed.
