Chris Ngige of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has won the the Anambra Central senatorial seat, beating former minister of information, Dorothy Akunyili, who ran on the ticket of the All Peoples Grand Alliance (APGA).
Mr. Ngige, a medical doctor, and former governor of Anambra polled 69,765 votes to beat Mrs. Akunyili, a professor of pharmacy who received 69, 292.
The ACN and APGA candidates yesterday squared off in a keenly contested and nationally watched partial re-run of their senatorial race after an INEC administrative panel recommended that the results from the April 9 contest was inconclusive in some areas of the state.
INEC tallies from April 9th gave a slight lead to Mrs. Akunyili. However, in yesterday's rerun, Mr. Ngige not only caught up but gained enough votes to hand his APGA opponent and Governor Peter Obi of Anambra state a defeat.
Mr. Ngige won despite the desperate distribution of cash, bags of rice and bales of textile by Mr. Obi and Mrs. Akunyili over the last few days.
In several reports Saharareporters had detailed ballot fraud and vote manipulations by Governor Obi and Mrs. Akunyili that nearly enabled the APGA to steal election.
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