SINCE the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, fixed  March 5, 2016  as the date for the rerun of the Anambra Central senatorial election, it would appear that 11 of the 12 candidates qualified to participate in the re-run after the disqualification of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and its candidate, are not taking the exercise serious.

By Vincent Ujumadu

Checks in the seven local government areas that make up the zone show that apart from the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, Chief Victor Umeh, others have not been active, or  they are probably waiting for last minute campaigns. In all the villages and towns of the zone, only Umeh’s posters are seen and only his supporters are campaigning openly.

During a meeting with political party leaders in Awka as part of preparations for the exercise, the new Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, for the state, Dr. Lawrence Azubuike, said the 13 candidates of the various political parties who took part in the March 28, 2015 national assembly election, were qualified to take part in the rerun.

He also took time to explain that the reason PDP would not to take in the rerun was because the Court of Appeal disqualified it for presenting an illegitimate candidate in the election in the person of Mrs. Uche Ekwunife, who was declared winner by the INEC.

Victor Umeh

The REC said: “This is a rerun election and the condition is as it was as at March 28, 2015, which is that only those cleared then to participate in the national assembly election, will participate in the  March 5, 2016  rerun.”

According to the REC, there were 14 candidates that participated in last year’s election for the Anambra Central senatorial zone and with the disqualification of the PDP and its candidate; the other 13 candidates are expected to participate in the  March 5, 2016rerun.

For the All Progressives Congress, APC, Azubuike said only its candidate in last year’s election, Senator Chris Ngige,  is qualified to take part in the rerun, though Ngige, having been appointed a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, had announced his decision not to take part in the senatorial rerun.

At the time the stakeholders’ meeting was held in Awka, INEC said it had not been officially notified about the withdrawal of Senator Ngige from the race.

Senator Annie Okonkwo, one of the people laying claim to the ticket of PDP for the zone, faulted plans by political parties that participated in the 2015 general election to conduct fresh primaries for the rerun senatorial election in Anambra Central, arguing that the move was “illegal and unconstitutional” and would violate the Electoral Act because the time scheduled by INEC for parties to substitute candidates expired last year.

Okonkwo said: “It would amount to an illegality to allow PDP and APC to field fresh candidates for the re- run election. The court did not ask political parties to conduct fresh primaries. The court only ordered INEC to conduct a rerun  within 90 days.

Initially, PDP tried to organize a legitimate primary to select a candidate for the rerun, but mid way, this was put on hold when the electoral umpire announced the disqualification of the party.

Also, the APC candidate, Mrs Sharon Ikeazor, who won the primary held in Awka, also disappeared immediately after the exercise.

From all indications, the electoral guideline has effectively barred the PDP from participating in the poll and possibly, APC if it fails to field Ngige. With this development, the coast appears to be very clear for Chief Umeh of APGA as other candidates seem to have chickened out of the race.

As Umeh said recently, some of the candidates for the  March 5  rerun have been visiting him to register their support for him. To him, some of the candidates have since realized that he is the best candidate for the job, especially with the programmes he has already mapped out for the zone in particular and Igbo nation in general.

For instance, Umeh has been very passionate about the implementation of the report of the National Conference convoked by former President Goodluck Jonathan of which he (Umeh) was a member.

During a recent interview, Umeh listed such issues as creation of an additional state for the South East, abolition of allocation to the 744 local government areas in the country from the Federation Account and rotational presidency, which were contained in the confab report, as issues he would pursue vigorously if elected into the senate.

However, despite an impending easy ride to victory for Umeh, he is still campaigning vigorously. In the last two weeks, the APGA candidate had visited the seven local government areas in the zone at least two times. He has also been visiting the churches in all the towns in the areas to seek their support for the election and has been receiving leaders of thought from all the communities in the zone.

If eventually he wins the rerun election, Umeh would be making history as the first senator to be elected on the platform of APGA. In fact, the people of Anambra State have taken Umeh’s senatorial ambition as a state –wide project, with the governor, Chief Willie Obiano, lending the desired support.

Recently, a campaign council for Umeh was put in place at a very elaborate ceremony in Awka during which notable politicians were named as members of the council. Essentially, their functions include mobilization of the electorate and ensuring that the malpractices that characterized the March 28, 2015 election, did not repeat on March 5, 2015 rerun.