By Nna Anulumadu
The Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) on Sunday, November 9th 2025 pegged voter turnout in the Anambra Saturday governorship election at 21.4 percent. CDD observed that political parties did not do enough to mobilize voters across the state.
The campaign period was marked by low visibility and an absence of issue-based campaigns, which contributed significantly to the lack of competitiveness observed during the election, as noted in previous reports. Despite high registration numbers, turnout was only 21.4 percent. This figure is an improvement from the 10.2 percent recorded in the 2021 election but still reflects troubling disengagement from the democratic process, underscoring the need for renewed efforts in civic education, electoral reform, and meaningful governance that inspires trust and participation.
A significant proportion of the young population stayed away, despite earlier enthusiasm during the Continuous Voter Registration process. Women and persons with disabilities also faced multiple barriers, such as difficulty accessing polling booths and the absence of voting aid materials.
Noting that over 45,000 security personnel were deployed for the election, CDD observed that security personnel were present at 87.3% of polling units observed by CDD-EAC, while 12.7% recorded no security presence.
The centre lamented that vote buying was widespread and openly practiced in several LGAs, in full view of security personnel, and party agents offered cash or used digital transfer methods to influence voters. Amounts ranged from ₦2,000 to ₦10,000 per voter.
CDD tracked over 200 claims related to the 2025 Anambra governorship election, of which 45 were deemed fact-checkable and most relevant to the electoral process. Analysis revealed that 54% of these claims were false, 27% were true, while 10% were misleading. The remaining claims fell into other categories requiring context or clarification.
Political party candidates, INEC, and security personnel were among the targets of disinformation in the election. Disinformation actors weaponized insecurity and deployed hate speech and artificial intelligence to distort facts about the election process and manipulate public perception.
The 2025 Anambra election reveals that Nigeria’s electoral challenges are deeply linked to wider governance failures. Weak institutions, elite dominance, economic hardship, insecurity, and lack of accountability continue to shape voter behavior and electoral outcomes.
CDD recommends that ongoing electoral reforms target improving INEC’s operational capacity through timely funding, decentralized planning, and consistent communication. Such operational issues include logistics, mandatory real-time result publication via IReV, early voting for essential personnel, and adequate personnel training.
Political parties should prioritize voter education and conduct issue-based campaigns. They must be compelled to uphold internal democracy and adhere to transparent campaign financing. Elections cannot be treated as temporary security events. Governments at all levels must develop a more sustainable security architecture that addresses root causes and provides year-round safety for residents.
Only then can we safeguard electoral processes without relying on massive deployments that strain national resources and offer no long-term protection. Conscious steps must be taken to discourage vote trading through deliberate efforts to deliver good governance while promoting civic education across all strata of society to discourage transactional politics.
The National Orientation Agency must take center stage on this. Ongoing reforms of the electoral act must consider the need to arrest and prosecute electoral offenders. Stakeholders, including media, security agencies, and civil society organizations, must collaborate to identify and debunk disinformation during elections.
INEC should enhance its public communication strategies to provide timely information that counters false narratives before they gain traction. INEC must promote inclusion through collaboration with relevant organizations on training personnel and providing voting aid materials for marginalized groups.
As the country prepares for the 2026 off-cycle elections and the 2027 general elections, these reforms must be prioritized. Nigeria’s democratic survival depends not just on voting but on the strength of the institutions and governance practices that surround it.
Present at the briefing were Dauda Garuba, PhD, Director, CDD-West Africa, and Professor Victor Adetula, Chair, Election Analysis Centre, among others.
