At Last, Democracy Returns to the Grassroots in Anambra

David-Chyddy Eleke writes that amid complaints of shabby conduct of the poll, it is heartwarming that wards and local government councils in Anambra State now have elected representatives.

Close to one decade after the last elected local council representatives in Anambra State served out their tenure, it sounds like reprieve again to know that once the newly elected councillors and chairmen are sworn in, democracy will once again return to the grassroots in full force.

The last local government election in the state was held in January, 2014 by the then governor, Mr Peter Obi. He swore them into office just two months before he handed over to his successor, Chief Willie Obiano on March 17, 2014. The elected council officials served for just two years before their tenure expired. But it can be predicted that because of the frosty relationship that existed between Obi and Obiano shortly after handover, the council officials may not have fully lived up, as they struggled between pleasing the one who engineered their election, and the new sheriff (Obiano) who just hit town then.

Since then, both Obiano who inherited elected council representatives from Obi and even Prof Charles Soludo, the incumbent governor have taken turns to handpick their cronies and have them sworn in for a three-month term, under the nomenclature of Transition Committee Chairmen for all the 21 local government areas. After every three months, a letter is forwarded to the Anambra State House of Assembly which renews their tenure for another three months.

And for every chairman or council member who is deemed not to be loyal, their names are replaced with more loyal individuals, and in that way, nine years have been wasted. The wastage is because the handpicked council representatives live and work under the dictates of the governor, who primarily takes their statutory allocation and gives them what is called running or overhead cost.

The story will change by this week, when Soludo swears in the newly elected local govenment chairmen and councillors. Anambra had last week Saturday held its local government elections amid complaints by opposition political parties.

After close to 11 years of the last election, and several clamours, Soludo in July, 2024 constituted a new board for Anambra State Independent Electoral Commission (ANSIEC), and within a week, the membership of the board was cleared by the House of Assembly, sworn in by the governor, and it immediately announced the conduct of the election which was held last weekend.

Reacting to the announcement which was followed by swift amendment of the state electoral laws to aid them, various political parties boycotted the election. They included All Progressives Congress (APC) and Labour Party (LP), which also went to court to challenge the process.

In last weekend’s election, APGA won all the 21 Local Government chairmanship and 326 councillorship positions. This elicited reactions, including people who insisted that the election was below average, and least expected from Soludo, an erudite scholar.

A governorship aspirant of Labour Party (LP)  for next year’s governorship contest in Anambra State, Mr John Nwosu in his verified X handle said: “The LG elections was a sham, statutorily manipulated and failed every test of credibility, transparency and inclusivity. The elections deserves close scrutiny for what it represents for Anambra State. It calls into question, if the incumbent governor, Prof. Charles Soludo is a true democrat and one who keeps his promises to our people.”

Meanwhile, the clean sweep of all the local government seats and wards by APGA has been attributed to the shabby nature of the conduct of the election. In Anaocha Local Government Area where the duo of Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 general election, Mr Peter Obi and Senator representing Anambra Central and Labour Party stalwart, Senator Victor Umeh hail from, Labour Party was assigned zero vote.

An indigene of the area, Mr Tony Ibe said: “We are aware that LP did not participate in the election, but that is not to say that one of two persons would not have mistakenly voted for them, especially as they are on the ballot. It truly looks like a sham election to believe that Senator Victor Umeh and Mr Peter Obi could not get even one vote in Anaocha.”

APGA and Soludo hold different views. The publicity secretary of APGA, Mr Ejimofor Opara while hailing the party for the clean sweep in the election said: “We congratulate the winners of the September 28th Local Government Elections in Anambra State! This resounding victory is a testament to the trust and confidence that Ndi Anambra have in APGA. Our party’s sweep of all 21 chairmanship positions and 326 councilorship seats is a clear indication that we are the party of choice for the good people of Anambra State. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to our National Leader, Prof. Soludo  and National Chairman,  Ezeokenwa, for their exceptional leadership and commitment to APGA’s success.

“Our party’s victory reflects the strong connection we have with the people of Anambra State. The elections were conducted peacefully and transparently, with APGA emerging as the clear winner. We pledge to continue delivering on our campaign promises and working tirelessly for the progress and development of Anambra State.”

Corroborating APGA’s stand, Soludo in an interview with mewsmen on election day said: “Today is a promise made and promise kept. We are holding the local government election to elect the  chairmen of the 21 Local government areas and councillors for the 326 wards. This election is a foretaste of what to expect next year. From all the calls and feelers that I have gotten from all over the state, everything is going well. We have said it everywhere and to all Anambra people that this will be one good example that is conducted very transparently and creditably.”

Not minding the criticisms that have trailed the local government election, many believe that Soludo still deserves accolades for installing democracy back in the grassroots.

Also, an observer group, International Peace and Civic Responsibility Centre (IPCRC), amid the criticisms has pointed out areas that need to be improved upon. The group in a press conference addressed by the coordinator, Prince Chris Azor while giving details of its observation during the election commended Governor Soludo for his resilience in ensuring the conduct of the election.

He said: “We deployed over 100 observers in the state to monitor the election, and also co-opted several citizen observers across the state. Our observation is that the governor has done well in ensuring democracy at the grassroots, but the biggest room is the room for improvement. ANSIEC did well by also pulling it off, despite the shortness of time, but we think there are things that can be improved upon.

“We didn’t quite see the voters’ cubicle in most cases, and also the braille ballot  for visually impaired persons. The idea is that this is an open secret ballot, open secret ballot in the sense that you get to see the person, but you don’t see where they voted, when they step into the voting cubicle, which is well away from the people. We do not want a case where a landlord will start quarreling with a tenant because the he felt that the tenant voted where he should not have voted.

“Also, there should be the braille ballot for people who are visually impaired, we have to accommodate them, but we didn’t quite see that. These are the things we want the ANSIEC  to improve on. We recommend better strategic logistics management to forestall delays in commencement of polls. In future elections, there’s need to commence early voter education and citizen sensitization for improved voter turnout.”