A downpour, which lingered from July 19 disrupted the commencement of the Local Government Area elections in Ebonyi State on Saturday.
A correspondent, who monitored the situation around Abakaliki and surrounding areas, reports that people were still inside their houses as of 9 am due to the downpour.
There were no voters in many polling units visited while officials of the Ebonyi State Independent Electoral Commission (EBSIEC) and security agents were scarcely seen.
The rain continued unabated in the early hours of Saturday in most parts of the State and had been heavy as at the time of this report.
A Resident of Abakaliki, Mr Justus Okafor, told NAN that there was no need defying the rains to vote in an “already concluded elections”.
“The election is all about the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) so why should I expose myself to unfavourable weather conditions to come out early.
“I might still come out to vote but definitely not under this rain,” he said.
An Electoral Officer who spoke under the condition of anonymity said the elections would go on as planned with or without the downpour.
“We are set for the elections and hope for a massive turnout as the day progresses.
“Our job is to conduct the election while the politicians bother on who controls the electorate,” he said.
Mrs Stella Okeh, an Election Observer, urged voters to come out en masse and cast their votes to ensure a credible process.
“The notion that the ruling party will dictate proceedings at the election should be corrected because other parties are equally participating.
“The massive defection of opposition members into the APC does not mean that those parties no longer have members,” she said.
About six political parties are contesting for the chairmanship and councillors positions in the 13 council areas of the State.
Ebonyi LGA election witnesses low turnout, late arrival of materials
It was further observed that the local government election in Ebonyi suffered voters’ apathy and boycott by opposition parties as only the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) presented candidates for the exercise.
The election was held in the 171 wards of the 13 councils of the State on Saturday.
People came out in trickles to vote while election materials and officers of the Ebonyi State Independent Electoral Commission (EBSIEC) arrived late to many polling units.
The electorates, who spoke with NAN attributed the apathy to the non-fielding of candidates by the opposition parties.
In most units, the electoral officers and materials arrived late as accreditation and voting commenced simultaneously at 10:40 a.m.
There was low voter turnout in Oroke Onuoha Community Primary School polling unit, Oroke Onuha Playground unit, Ebonyi Local Government as well as at the Stadium polling unit 003 in Abakaliki local government area.
In some areas in Abakaliki metropolis, people were seen going about their businesses, though there was restriction of human and vehicular movements.
An electorate, Mr Chigozie Nwafor, said the low turnout was due to non-feilding of candidates by opposition parties.
“You can see, it is only the candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) that are in for the elections and no other parties,” Nwafor said.
Another resident and politician, Onyeka Nworie, alleged that the EBSIEC did not give political parties a level playing ground to participate in the elections.
According to Nworie, only the APC, the ruling party in the state, was participating in the elections.
“PDP, Labour Party, All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) are nowhere to be found,” he said.
Also in Polling unit 003, Edukwu Oferekpe in Izzi local government area electoral officers and materials arrived late.
Ms Lucy Nwogbaga, Returning Officer at the Edukwu Oferekpe Unit, said that the voting could not start early due to the early morning rain.
“There were also delays from the collation centre. We could not move and go to the polling on time,” she added.
On voter turnout, Nwogbaga expressed hope that the electorates would come out to vote and noted that the processes had been smooth.
Mr Chukwu Eze also attributed the low turnout to the early morning rain in the state.
