Bayelsa election: INEC cancels election in Southern Ijaw

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has canceled the gubernatorial election in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, citing violence and ballot snatching.
Resident Electoral Commissioner for Bayelsa State, Baritor Kpagih read a short statement to journalists at the collation centre in Yenagoa, saying a new date would be announced for re-election.

Election result from Southern Ijaw with 120,000 registered voters was being expected when INEC canceled the election, saying it was sufficiently marred.

Sources from the area had said election held in the night and voting was compromised by the men in military uniform who snatched ballot boxes and other election materials.

Even today, unconfirmed reports said three persons, one of them a lecturer in the state-owned Niger Delta University, were killed.

The police had yesterday said claims of deaths were false but failed to give reasons why the election was postponed till Sunday.

As at the time of the cancelation, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) was leading with 105,748 votes while the All Progressives Congress (APC) had 72,594 votes.

Earlier in the day, placard-carrying women from Southern Ijaw Local Government Area protested the killings, violence, ballot-snatching and denial of their franchise, including the use of the military to perpetrate electoral fraud.

The police also promptly banned all processions, demonstrations and rallies while the election lasted, saying some disgruntled persons wanted to use such gatherings to cause breach of the peace.

The PDP had called for the cancelation of the election in Southern Ijaw as a result of the unresolved issues while correspondents and observers also opined that INEC needed to cancel the election to save its integrity.

Samuel Ese