INEC Ready For Kano Assembly Bye-Election, Says REC

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Kano has announced that all required preparations have been made for the February 3 bye-elections for the State Assembly in Kunchi/Tsanyawa, Kura/Garin Malam, and Rimin Gado/Tofa.

This was revealed by the state’s resident electoral commissioner, Abdu Zango, on Tuesday during an address to stakeholders at the commission’s Kano office.

He said, “We are fully ready for the bye-election with our trained electoral personnel ready to conduct a transparent and credible election for the conduct of bye-elections in six local government areas.

“We are conducting elections in 66 polling units across the six local government areas of the state. 

“Any person without a permanent voter card will not be allowed to participate in the forthcoming bye-election.”

Naija News reports that he detailed that all impacted local government areas had already received both sensitive and non-sensitive materials from the commission.

In order to ensure free, fair, and credible elections, Zango clarified that the BIVAS machine would be utilized for the rerun polls.

The REC said he was confident that the bye-election would proceed smoothly and successfully.

“We have prepared and equipped our personnel with basic electoral knowledge for the conduct of free, fair and transparent elections come February 3,” he said.

Zango applauded the Police for providing the necessary security personnel for the bye-election.

During his speech, State Police Commissioner Usaini Gumel stated that the command had already implemented security protocols to guarantee smooth elections in the impacted Local Government Areas.

CSP Hamma Abdullahi, speaking on behalf of Gumel, stated that all polling places would have police presence, allowing eligible citizens of the six local government areas to take part in the exercise without fear for their safety or property.

He issued a warning to political party leaders who planned to run for office, urging them to persuade their followers to abstain from all forms of political violence, ballot snatching, and thuggery throughout the election process.