Supplementary Polls: INEC assures of preparedness to conduct election in 69 polling units
…as Atiku drums support for PDP
By Tunde Opalana
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has assured of it’s preparedness to conduct supplementary election in 69 polling units across the country tomorrow.
According to the commission, supplementary elections would be held in Adamawa and Kebbi states to conclude the governorship elections in the two states where elections were declared inconclusive due to inconsistencies in the margin of registered voters and votes won by the candidates.
Elections would also be held in five senatorial districts in Yobe, Sokoto, and Zamfara states, 31 federal and 58 state assembly constituencies.
State constituency elections in Akwa Ibom and Bayelsa were also declared inconclusive.
National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, said both sensitive and insensitive election materials have been distributed while logistics arrangements are intact with ad- hoc staff were already mobilized to their polling units of primary assignment.
The Commission assured parties of free, fair and credible polls in accordance with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 (as amended) and other extant electoral laws as well as the INEC guidelines.
Okoye said urged all political parties, candidates and stakeholders to note that the earlier accreditation for polling and collation agents, observers and the media still subsists for the supplementary elections.
He sounded note of warning to political parties, candidates and their supporters to see the exercise as an election and not war, adding they should avoid negative mobilisation, infractions and disruption of voting process as well as avoiding vote buying so that the elections could be conducted and concluded as scheduled.
The Commission had on Monday 27th March 2023 reviewed the areas,where supplementary elections are required to conclude the outstanding Governorship, National and State Assembly elections across the country and fixed Saturday 15th April 2023 for the conduct of the supplementary elections in the affected polling units nationwide.
This was after INEC has announced results of elections conducted and concluded in 26 state governorship, 104 Senatorial, 329 Federal and 935 State constituency and winners declared with certificates of return issued.
Elections were cancelled in the remaining areas due to various incidences of violence and reports of hijacking of electoral materials, which made the number of cancelled votes exceed the margin of winning votes.
Supplementary elections often record low voter turnout, hence, the people who decide to participate in such elections have a deciding role that cannot be overemphasized.
Meanwhile, the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the 2023 general election, Atiku Abubakar has implored the electorate in all the places where supplementary elections will take place on Saturday to come out in large numbers to cast their ballot for the PDP.
Atiku, in a press release signed on Thursday by his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, specifically calls on the voters at polling units where elections will take place in Adamawa and Kebbi on Saturday, 15 April, to ensure that the process of electing PDP state governors and federal and state lawmakers in those states and others are completed in a peaceful manner.
“In both Adamawa and Kebbi where supplementary elections shall be held on Saturday, I wish to make a special appeal to the voters in the respective polling units where elections shall be taking place to make sure that the PDP enjoys overwhelming support through their votes.
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“It is an established fact that the APC has failed the people of this country and, especially, in Kebbi State, the more reason it is incumbent on the electorate to vote them out and return the PDP”, Atiku is quoted to have said.
It will be recalled that after the February 25 and March 18 general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission scheduled supplementary governorship elections in Adamawa and Kebbi states, five senatorial districts, and 31 federal and 58 state assembly constituencies across the country.
