By CHARLES IWUOHA

A coalition of accredited independent observers has described Saturday’s local government elections in Enugu State as “one of the most peaceful, credible and transparent electoral exercises in the country”.

Addressing newsmen after the exercise in Enugu, the Coordinator of Civil Society Organisations, Samuel Onoja, stated that the elections were “devoid of violence and all forms of irregularities”.

Onoja added that their observations prior and during the elections were impressive, saying that “all the observers deployed to various polling booths across the 17 local government areas of Enugu State, have sent in their reports confirming that the elections were peaceful, transparent, free, fair and devoid of violence”.

He disclosed that the turn-out of voters, especially the youth and women, were also impressive, maintaining that “there were no incidents of violence, ballot box snatching and vote buying, as the electorate exercised their franchise freely and in a peaceful atmosphere”.

His words: “As we usually say, elections in Enugu State are always more peaceful and transparent than in any other state in this country.

“We commend the State Governor, His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, for making this possible and creating the enabling environment for peace to thrive in Enugu State. We also commend the Enugu State Independent Electoral Commission (ENSIEC), the security agencies and other relevant stakeholders, for their contributions towards the peaceful conduct of the elections.”

While urging the contestants to accept the results of the elections when released by ENSIEC, the observers applauded the people of Enugu State for their peaceful conducts during the exercise.

Gov. Ugwuanyi, at about 11:15a.m, voted at his Amube Ward II polling unit in Ohom Orba, Udenu Local Government Area.

Update news