The Independent National Electoral Commission has released the schedule for the supplementary elections which will hold in Bauchi State on Saturday, 23rd March, 2019.
The schedule, obtained from the INEC office in Bauchi State, indicated that the re-run will hold in 36 Polling Units in 29 Registration Areas (wards) scattered across 15 of the 20 Local Government Areas of Bauchi State.
It further showed that a total of 22, 641 registered voters are expected to participate in the exercise.
Recall that the Returning Officer of the elections in Bauchi State, Prof. Kyari Mohammed, had, early hours of Monday, 11th March, 2019, declared the Governorship election in the state as inconclusive.
According to him, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Sen. Bala Mohammed got 469, 512 votes to lead his closest rival, the incumbent Governor, Mohammed Abubakar of the All Progressives Congress, who got 465, 453 votes.
He said that because the margin of lead between the two candidates is 4, 059 votes, having earlier cancelled the entire votes of one of the three Local Government Areas Speaker Yakubu Dogara represents in the House of Representatives, Tafawa Balewa, which has 139, 240 registered voters, a winner cannot be announced.
Mohammed who said that the number of cancelled votes in the elections even without that of Tafawa Balewa LGA is 45, 312, therefore declared that based on Section 26 (53) of the Electoral Act, the elections in Bauchi State is inconclusive, and directed INEC to conduct re-run elections in the affected LGAs within 21 days.
But an investigative committee led by the National Commissioner, Information and Voter Education, sent from the INEC Headquarters, Festus Okoye, during its three days assignment in the state, discovered that the cancelled votes in Ningi LGA were 2, 533 and not 25, 330 during the collation.
The INEC Headquarters, following the recommendation of the Okoye-led Committee, directed that the error of the 22, 797 cancelled votes in the LGA be corrected and deducted from the 45, 240 votes earlier announced.
The breakdown of the areas affected and the number of registered voters according to the document, showed that:
Alkaleri -1 ward – 1 – PU – 1,190 reg. voters
Bogoro – 1 ward – 1 – PU – 1,130 reg. voters
Darazo – 3 wards- 4 PUs – 2,746 reg. voters
Dass – 1 ward – 1 PU – 872 reg. voters
Gamawa 1 ward – 1 PU – 405 reg. voters
Ganjuwa 2wards -2PUs – 1,306 reg. voters
Giade – 4 wards – 4PUs -1, 899 reg. voters
Itas Gadau 1ward-3PUs – 2,252 reg. voters
Jama’are 2wards – 2PUs – 829 reg. voters
Katagum 2 wards -3PUs – 2,055 reg. voters
Kirfi – 2 wards 2PUs – 1,111 reg. voters
Misau – 1 ward – 1 PU – 1, 007 reg. voters
Ningi – 4 wards – 5PUs – 2, 533 reg. voters
Shira – 1 ward – 1 PU – 438 reg. voters
Toro – 3 wards – 4PUs – 2, 868 reg. voters
Posted by Juliet Ekwebelam (Punch)
