The Anambra State Independent Electoral Commission (AnSIEC) has said preparations are in top gear for the conduct of the August 29 local government chairmanship and councillorship elections in the state.
The commission’s Commissioner for Information and Publicity, Chief Chinedu Nnalue, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Awka on Thursday.
Nnalue said training of electoral officials had been completed across the three senatorial districts, while the list of cleared candidates would be published soon.
He said only two political parties—the All Progressives Grand Alliance and the Young Progressives Party—would participate in the election.
According to him, APGA will contest in all 21 local government areas and 326 wards, while YPP will contest in one local government area and 20 ward positions.
The commissioner said 341 councillorship candidates and 22 local government chairmanship candidates had been cleared for the election.
“Preparation is top gear, AnSIEC is almost ready and waiting for the election day to come because logistics have been put in motion to ensure a free, fair and credible poll,” he said.
Nnalue said the commission had conducted its ad hoc staff training across the three senatorial districts, with the Anambra Central exercise ending in Awka on Thursday.
“We have conducted our ad hoc staff training which incidentally is ending with that of Anambra Central in Awka today, that of Anambra South and Anambra North have been concluded in Aguata and Otuocha respectively,” he said.
He added, “Two political parties, APGA and YPP are participating in this election with 341 Councillorship and 22 Local Government chairman candidates all cleared for the election.”
Nnalue urged eligible voters to come out en masse to cast their ballots for candidates of their choice, assuring them that the commission was committed to conducting a free, fair and credible election.
He said there could be restriction of movement on election day, adding that AnSIEC had received assurances from security agencies that adequate measures would be put in place to maintain law and order during the exercise.
AnSIEC had earlier fixed Saturday, August 29, 2026, for elections into the chairmanship and councillorship positions across Anambra’s 21 local government areas.
The commission’s timetable provides for voting between 8am and 3pm, with any run-off or re-run scheduled for September 12.
The commission had also previously reaffirmed that the August 29 date remained unchanged, saying preparations were progressing and that about 5,000 ad hoc personnel were expected to be engaged for the exercise.
