The Anambra State governorship election has been peaceful across the 5,200 polling units.
The exercise commenced at 8:30 am, with the accreditation of voters and voting.
Officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) began accreditation simultaneously, with no major security breaches reported.
Some of the voters in Onitsha North and South expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the election, saying "the INEC officials arrived earlier, and we started voting as early as 8:45 a.m."
At Ezechima Primary School, there was a large turnout of voters at the polling units, and a smooth running of the BVAS machines.
At Ilo Igwodo Primary School, Ogidi, Idemili North, Persons Living with Disabilities (PLWD) and elderly people were given special priority to vote.
Speaking during an election monitoring exercise, Jennifer Dagwut, Media and Communication Officer of Yiaga Africa, said the atmosphere in the state remained calm, but raised concerns about vote-buying in some polling units.
She said, "We observe vote buying in some units. We noticed that politicians are deploying new methods of inducing voters, year by year."
She also noted that there are issues with the BVAS machines in some units, saying "we noticed a few BVAS malfunctioning a number of polling units in Onitsha North and Oyi LGAs.
"But largely, the exercise is going on peacefully, and early arrivals of INEC officials and security Agencies are on the ground in the polling units, and we hope the process will be peaceful."
However, the Commissioner of Police, Abayomi Shogunle, reiterated assurances of a peaceful exercise, noting that security agencies had carried out clearance operations in high-risk areas and neutralised identified threats.
