Elections: INEC fixes date to end deadlock in Sokoto, Kano, Bauchi, Plateau, Adamawa, Benue

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will conduct the supplementary election in on 23 March in Sokoto, Kano, Adamawa, and three other states where the March 9 elections are deadlocked.

The other states are Benue, Plateau and Bauchi.

Festus Okoye, head of the commission’s information and voter education committee, announced INEC’s decision on Tuesday in a statement.

“The Commission met today, 12th March 2019 and reviewed the conduct of the 29 Governorship and 991 State constituency elections held on 9th March 2019. In all, the Commission declared winners in the Governorship elections in 22 states,” he said.

“However, the Returning Officers in Adamawa. Bauchi, Benue, Kano, Plateau and Sokoto States declared the Governorship elections inconclusive. Consequently. the Commission will conduct supplementary elections on Saturday 23rd March 2019 to conclude the process. Supplementary elections will also hold in polling units in all States where State Assembly elections were declared inconclusive and winners could not be declared. Details of the constituencies including a number of polling units and registered voters will be published on our website tomorrow Wednesday 13th March 2019.

“The elections were declared inconclusive for a combination of reasons, mainly the discontinuation of use of the Smart Card Readers midway into the elections or the failure to deploy them, over-voting and widespread disruption in many polling units.

“Furthermore, the Commission has considered a Report submitted by the Resident Electoral Commissioner for Bauchi State on the disruption of the collation at the Tafawa Balewa LGA collation centre, which led to the cancellation of results for the entire local government. The Commission found that there are issues that need further investigation and has set up a team led by a National Commissioner to resolve them.