By Francis Ugwu
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced on Sunday that fresh polls will be conducted in 59 polling units in the Ogori/Magongo Local Government Area of Kogi State.
According to the commission, the fresh election will be held next Saturday, November 18, 2023.
This was announced in a statement on Sunday night by the INEC National Commissioner, Mohammed Haruna.
The electoral body said it received an update from Kogi regarding the suspension of elections in some locations in the state where result sheets were completed before the commencement of voting.
INEC further stated that the decision is without prejudice to its avowed commitment to follow the audit trail of personnel and materials to ascertain those who may have been complicit in undermining the process and apply appropriate sanctions where necessary.
“The most critical incident occurred in nine out of 10 wards in Ogori/Magongo Local Government Area (LGA). Elections in the other nine wards (Eni, Okibo, Okesi, Ileteju, Aiyeromi, Ugugu, Obinoyin, Obatgben, and Oturu) involving 59 polling units and 15,136 registered voters remain suspended,” part of the statement reads.
The commission said it acted “in line with Section 24(3) of the Electoral Act 2022 and Clause 59 of INEC Regulations and Guidelines on the Conduct of Elections 2022, a fresh election will be held on Saturday, 18th November 2023 in the affected polling units.”
DAILY POST reported that election results from 18 of the 21 local government areas in the state have been collated as of Sunday evening.
However, there’s an indication that the candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Murtala Ajaka, and his All Progressives Congress (APC) counterpart, Usman Ododo, are in a tight race.
DAILY POST recalls that Dino Melaye, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), raised the alarm on Saturday over “filled result sheets” in the Ogori/Magongo Local Government Area of the North Central part of the state.
Melaye also called for the suspension of the exercise over violence and vote-buying. INEC subsequently suspended elections in nine wards in the local government area.
