Kogi guber: INEC to hold fresh elections in 59 polling units

New elections are scheduled to take place in 59 polling units in the Ogori/Magongo Local Government Area of Kogi State, according to an announcement made by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Sunday.

The commission has announced that the next election will take place on the following Saturday, November 18, 2023.

In a statement that was released late on Sunday night, the INEC National Commissioner, Mohammed Haruna, revealed this information.

The electoral authority stated that it had received an update on the matter from Kogi about the suspension of polls in certain locations within the state where result sheets had been finalized prior to the start of voting.

INEC also indicated that its professed commitment to following the audit trail of personnel and materials in order to establish individuals who may have been complicit in undermining the process and applying appropriate punishments where necessary is not affected by the decision. This was stated in another statement that was released by INEC.

The most serious occurrence took place in nine out of the ten wards that make up the Ogori/Magongo Local Government Area (LGA). A portion of the statement states, “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.”

According to a statement released by the commission, it took the action “in accordance 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.”

As of Sunday evening, InfoStride News reported that election results had been compiled from 18 of the state’s 21 different local government regions.

However, there are signs that the battle between the candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Murtala Ajaka, and his counterpart from the All Progressives Congress (APC), Usman Ododo, is a close one.

InfoStride News has it on good authority that Dino Melaye, the candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), sounded the alarm on Saturday over “filled result sheets” in the Ogori/Magongo Local Government Area, which is located in the North Central region of the state.

Melaye has also demanded that the activity be halted because of the violence and vote-buying that has occurred. Following this, INEC decided to postpone voting in nine of the wards located within the local government area.