Nigeria’s electoral commission, INEC, has fixed Thursday, 21 August, for the conduct of elections in the five polling units in Kaura Namoda South State Constituency of Zamfara State, where elections were disrupted on Saturday.
In a statement by its spokesperson, Sam Olumekun, INEC said elections must be held in five polling units for a winner to emerge in the state constituency election.
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INEC Returning Officer, Lawal Sa’adu, had declared Saturday’s election in the constituency inconclusive, following the cancellation of results from some polling units in Sakajiki and Kambarawa wards.
Mr Sa’adu explained that the All Progressives Congress (APC) scored 7,001 votes, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) scored 5,339 votes, leaving a margin of 1,662 votes.
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“The margin of lead was 1,662. Therefore, based on Section 24(3) and (4) of the Electoral Act 2022, elections must be held in the affected polling units to determine a winner,” he said.
Zamfara PDP, APC trade words
Although declared inconclusive, the PDP in Zamfara State has rejected the conduct of the by-election, accusing the APC of perpetrating widespread electoral fraud with the backing of the military and bandits.
The state PDP Chairperson, Jibo Jamilu, described the exercise as “a theatre of intimidation, violence, and electoral malpractice” that fell short of democratic standards.
Meanwhile, APC in Zamfara has also accused the state government and the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of attempts to rig the election.
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In a statement signed by the party’s spokesperson, Yusuf Idris, the APC claimed that a secret meeting took place at the state government house late Monday night between the REC and officials of the state government.
The statement claimed that the meeting focused on plans to manipulate the recently held Kaura Namoda South by-election, which was declared inconclusive.
Saturday’s By-election
Alongside the election in Zamfara, INEC conducted 16 constituency elections across 12 states of the federation.
The by-elections involved two senatorial seats, five federal constituencies and nine state constituencies.
