The Anambra State Independent Electoral Commission (ANSIEC) has released the list of qualified candidates for the upcoming Local Government Elections scheduled for September 28, 2024. ANSIEC Chairman, Mrs. Genevieve Osakwe, announced the list in Awka, encouraging the public to visit the commission’s headquarters or any of the 21 local government areas to confirm the names of candidates.
Osakwe urged the shortlisted candidates to begin their campaigns and encouraged the people of Anambra to actively participate, assuring them that the elections will be “free, fair, and credible.”
However, the process has sparked controversy, with major political parties like the All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Labour Party (LP) threatening to withdraw from the elections. They allege irregularities and a lack of adherence to due process by ANSIEC, with the APC describing participation as “legalising illegality.”
The election will mark the first local government polls in the state since 2014, after a decade of local councils being run by caretaker chairmen appointed by the governor.
