Enugu LG poll: Houses burnt, many wounded

Enugu LG poll: Houses burnt, many
wounded
on november 03, 2013 at 5:20 am in news
By Tony Edike,  Enugu
Enugu State Governor Sullivan Chime has
expressed satisfaction with the conduct of
yesterday’s local government elections in the state
even as reports from Isiuzo local government area
said some houses were burnt while some persons
sustained machete cuts following a clash between
supporters of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and
All Progressive  Grand Alliance, APGA.
The elections generally witnessed low turn out of
voters in the 17 local government areas of the state
as voters  shunned the polls since only the PDP had
candidates.
The violence in Isiuzo and  voters apathy
notwithstanding, Chime said the elections  marked
yet another milestone in the quest by the state to
entrench democracy and good governance at the
grassroot level
Chime, speaking shortly after casting his vote at
Premier School Udi, said the conduct of the
elections, the fourth since the inception of his
administration in 2007, were worthy of emulation.
He attributed the low turn out of voters to the fact
all the chairmanship and most of the councillorship
candidates were running unopposed.
Also speaking to reporters, the Country Director,
World Youth Peace Mission, Abuja, Chief Boniface
Okafor, who was  in Enugu with his team to monitor
the elections, observed that the exercise was free
an fair.
Meanwhile, reports from Isiuzo said that violence
erupted in the council which had been under
tension following an attempt by APGA to stop the
elections on account of alleged wrongful
disqualification of its chairmanship candidate.
It was learnt that some houses were burnt at
Umualor ward while some persons were wounded.
Unconfirmed reports said the police made some
arrests.
At Ikem Umuaram polling centre, an APGA agent,
who identified himself as Monday, said he was
asked by security agents, officials of Enugu State
Independent Electoral Commission, ENSIEC, and
some PDP stalwarts to disappear from the polling
booth or would be dealth with.
He alleged that he watched how some suspected
PDP members collected electoral materials and
zoomed off in a Mercedes Benz car and he
promptly called the FRCN phone-in programme
monitoring the elections to complain of the alleged
move to rig the councillorship election against the
APGA candidate.
Meanwhile, the state chairman of Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP, Engr. Vita Abba, has
expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the local
government elections saying the process was
transparent.