The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has suspended the election in the Esan and Igueben federal constituency in Edo State. INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu disclosed this at an election briefing on Saturday.
According to him, the suspension was caused by the omission of a party’s logo on ballot papers.
The federal constituency election will now take place on March 11, along with the governorship and state assembly elections, according to the electoral chief.
“In Edo State, we had a situation that we handled yesterday (Friday), one of the parties whose acronym is on the score sheet but the logo is not on the ballot paper in a federal constituency,” Yakubu explained.
“A decision was made after meeting with stakeholders because the materials are in good condition. As a result, the elections for Esan North, Esan South, and Igueben have been postponed.
“The ballot papers will be reprinted, and elections will now take place in the next two weeks with constituency elections.”
INEC also halted the election in Yenagoa, the capital of Bayelsa State, due to electoral violence and a lack of voting materials.
“We have a situation in Bayelsa, particularly in the capital, Yenagoa, where in four wards – Wards 4, 6, 8, and 14 – the process was disrupted, involving 140 polling units,” Yakubu said.
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“We reactivated security. The situation is stable enough for us to proceed with the process, but the youth corps members expressed reservations about returning.
“We met with security agencies and agreed that voting would take place tomorrow (Sunday) morning.”
Yakubu assured Nigerians that INEC is determined to ensure that no Nigerian is denied the right to vote.
INEC also suspended the senatorial election in Enugu East Senatorial District on Friday due to the death of the Labour Party’s (LP) senatorial candidate for the district, Oyibo Chukwu.
The commission stated that the party will replace the deceased candidate, and the election will now be held on March 11 in the district.
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