The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the Kaura Namoda South State Constituency by-election in Zamfara inconclusive.
The Returning Officer for the election, Lawal Sa’Adu, a professor at the Federal University Gusau, explained that the decision followed the cancellation of results from some polling units in Sakajiki and Kambarawa wards.
According to him, the affected polling units had 5,446 registered voters, with 3,265 Permanent Voter Cards collected.
Sa’adu disclosed that the All Progressives Congress polled 7,001 votes, while the Peoples Democratic Party secured 5,339 votes, leaving a margin of 1,662 votes.
He said the margin was less than the number of collected PVCs in the cancelled polling units, making it impossible to declare a winner.
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“The Electoral Act 2022 and the Manual for Election Officials state that such a situation arises where the margin of lead between the two leading candidates was not more than the number of collected PVCs in areas where elections were cancelled,” he said.
He added that in such cases, “the Returning Officer shall decline to declare a winner until supplementary elections are conducted.”
Sa’adu explained that Sakajiki Ward had two polling units affected with 1,357 registered voters and 1,298 PVCs collected, while Kambarawa Ward had three polling units affected, with 4,088 registered voters and 1,964 PVCs collected.
He, therefore, declared the election inconclusive, pending the conduct of a supplementary poll in the affected units.
He further said INEC would announce a new date for the rerun across the five polling units in Sakajiki and Kambarawa wards.