The All Progressives Congress (APC), Imo State chapter, has won all 27 local government chairmanship positions and 305 councillorship seats in the recently concluded elections.
This was announced by the chairman of the Imo State Independent Electoral Commission (ISIEC), Charles Ejiogu, who declared the results at the Commission’s Secretariat in Owerri, the state capital.
“All the candidates of APC have been officially declared winners as Councilors and Executive Council Chairmen-elects. The elections took place across 305 electoral wards and 27 local government areas (LGAs) in Imo State,” Ejiogu stated.
In response to the announcement, the National Youth Alliance (NYA), Imo State chapter, condemned the election, calling it a “charade and slap on democracy.” The group accused ISIEC of collaborating with the ruling APC to manipulate the process, claiming that the Commission deprived voters of their right to participate.
Chinonso Uba, the group’s State coordinator, alleged in a press statement that electoral materials were selectively distributed and that ISIEC staff failed to show up in some council areas, yet results were still produced from those places.
He also claimed that over 250 wards were denied access to voting materials, effectively disenfranchising many voters. “Voting materials such as ballot boxes, result sheets arrived as late as 3pm. In most areas, ISIEC never showed up and many voters were disenfranchised,” he stated.