Voters protest alleged disenfranchisement in Imo

SCORES of registered voters in some parts of Imo State protested on Tuesday evening over what they called disenfranchisement. They said that no voting took place in their polling centres during the governorship and House of Assembly elections in the state.At about 7.00 p.m., some registered voters at old Imo State University (IMSU) Junction, now Evan Enwerem University, Owerri, along Okigwe Road, complained that about 900 voters who had voted in earlier polls could not vote on Tuesday because there were no voting materials.They, therefore, called on the INEC to cancel the exercise or not to announce results until elections are held in the affected centres, such as Ikeduru, IMSU Junction, among others.One of the protesters, who preferred anonymity, told The Guardian: We can not understand why we could not be provided with materials for voting in some places in Imo. The results should not be announced until elections are held in the affected centres. Anything short of that is undemocratic and totally unacceptable to us. We want the outside world to hear us.However, speaking on the issue, the Head, INEC Public Affairs in the state, Samuel Bassey, said the issue had been noted, adding that decision would be taken by the Commission yesterday.As at 8.30 a.m. yesterday, Bassey told The Guardian that 16 out of 27 councils had turned in their results to the headquarters of INEC in Owerri.There are about 3,523 polling centres in 305 wards in the state.
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