Charles Soludo, the incumbent governor of Anambra State, is set to be declared re-elected for a second term after winning Saturday’s election in all the 21 local government areas of the state.
As of the time of this report, INEC had formally announced the results at its headquarters in Awka, but was still conducting a final calculation of the figures before declaring Mr Soludo the winner of the election.
To be declared the winner, a candidate must secure the highest number of votes and at least 25 per cent of the votes in no fewer than two-thirds (14) of the state’s local government areas (LGAs).
A PREMIUM TIMES review of the results officially announced by INEC shows that by winning in each of the 21 local government areas, Mr Soludo has already surpassed the constitutional requirement and so will be declared the winner of the election.
Mr Soludo was first elected governor about four years ago and will conclude his first term next March. His victory in Saturday’s election would mean he would then be sworn in for a second and final term as governor.
For Saturday’s election, Mr Soludo was up against Nicholas Ukachukwu of the All Progressive Congress, George Moghalu of the Labour Party and thirteen other contenders.
A total of 16 political parties took part in the election.
While the election was largely peaceful across the state, there have been concerns about vote-buying.
YIAGA Africa, a civil society organisation monitoring the governorship election, on Saturday estimated the preliminary voter turnout to be between 20.28 per cent and 22.92 per cent.