By Ngwuoke Ngwuoke
Dr Peter Mba of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has been declared winner of the March 18 Governorship Election in Enugu State.
He polled a total of 160,895 votes to defeat his closest rival, Chijioke Edoga of the Labour Party, LP, who polled 157,552 votes.
Frank Nweke Jnr of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, came a distant third with 17,983 votes.
Announcing the votes Wednesday night in Enugu, the Returning Officer, Professor Maduebibisi Ofo Iwe, said: “having satisfied the requirements of the law, Peter Mba of the Peoples Democratic Party is returned elected”.
The announcement ended days of uncertainty, accusations and counter accusations among members of the two major parties in the State.
From Saturday night when the election was held to Wednesday night, members of both parties kept vigil at the premises of the National Independent Electoral Commission, INEC. While the waiting lasted, there was no dull moments as the party faithful danced to their own dance bands and shared cooked food freely to anyone that cared to eat.
Other parties scored as follows: AA – 330 votes; AAC – 146 votes; ADC – 1160 votes; ADP – 382 votes; APC – 14,575 votes; APM – 358 votes; APP – 158 votes; PP – 319 votes; NNPP – 2107 votes; NRM – 854 votes; PRP – 850 votes; SDP – 65 votes; YPP – 397 votes and ZLP – 332 votes.
Professor Iwe said the total number of registered voters in the state were 2,112,793 out of which only 381971 were accredited.
Total votes cast were 367,551 out of which 358,463 were valid while 9088 were rejected.
