From CHARLES ONYEKWERE
Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has finally declared Bright Ngene of Labour Party, LP, as winner of the protracted rerun election in Enugu South Urban State Assembly constituency after four failed attempts.
In the initial March 2023 election, Ngene was declared winner with 5,862 votes, defeating the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Sam Ngene, who scored 2,098 votes.
Ngene was subsequently sworn into office. However, the election was later nullified by the Enugu Election Petition Tribunal on the grounds that the number of canceled votes exceeded his winning margin.
The court ordered a rerun in eight polling units within Uwani.
Efforts to conduct the rerun were repeatedly thwarted by issues such as missing result sheets, violence, INEC logistical failures and other administrative challenges.
In June 2024, Ngene was convicted and sentenced to seven years in prison by a magistrate court on fraud charges related to a resurrected community matter from 2017. Many believed the conviction was politically orchestrated to prevent him from contesting the election.
On Saturday, August 16, the much-anticipated rerun election ended in frustration as voting failed to take place for the fourth consecutive time, despite significant voter turnout at the designated Uwani Secondary School polling centre.
Although, INEC officials were present and appeared prepared, the process could not commence due to the absence of sensitive materials, including result sheets.
By 4:20pm, with no voting activity in sight, the polling unit was shut down and electoral materials packed up.
The PDP candidate blamed the delay on political interference, naming high-profile figures whom he accused of disrupting the process.
Responding, the Minister of Science and Technology, Chief Uche Nnaji defended his presence at the polling unit, stating: “I am here as the leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Enugu State. I have every right to be present. The PDP knows it cannot win this election. If it is not concluded today, we will remain here until it is done.”
Meanwhile, the Labour Party Chairman in Enugu South Local Government Area, Chinwuba Ngwu, expressed frustration with INEC, saying, “We have been here since 7am, but there was no accreditation or voting. INEC has not communicated anything. It is total silence.”
It would be recalled that the court-ordered rerun was billed to take place in eight polling units covering 4,618 registered voters.
Taking a decisive step, the Independent National Electoral Commission on Tuesday declared the Labour Party candidate winner of the election, ending months of uncertainty.
