INEC expresses readiness for rerun polls in Kano

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it has completed all arrangements for the conduct of Feb. 3 court-ordered rerun elections in three state constituencies across six local government areas in Kano State.

The constituencies are Kunchi/Tsanyawa, Kura/Garun Malam and Rimin Gado/Tofa.

Abdu Zango, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the state, said this while addressing stakeholders at the commission’s headquarters in Kano on Wednesday.

He said: “We are fully ready for the rerun elections with our trained electoral personnel ready to conduct transparent and credible elections in the six Local Government Areas of the State.

“We are conducting elections in 66 polling units across the six local government areas. Any person without a permanent voter card will not participate in the court rerun elections.”

The REC said that the commission had already deployed non-sensitive materials to all the affected local government areas.

Mr Zango said: ”We will be deploying the sensitive materials a day to the elections”.

He also said that the BVAS machine would be used during the rerun elections aimed at ensuring free, fair and credible elections.

Mr Zango expressed confidence that the rerun elections would be successful.

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

The REC commended the efforts of the police for its readiness to provide the required security before, during and after the rerun elections.

The Commissioner of Police in the state, Hussaini Gumel, said at the event that the command had already put in place security measures to ensure the smooth implementation of all electoral processes in the affected local government Areas.

Represented by CSP Hamma Abdullahi, Mr Gumel said the police would be visible in all the polling units to enable eligible voters in the six local government areas to participate in the exercise without threat to lives and property.

He warned leaders of political parties that would be participating in the election to impress on their supporters to shun all kinds of political violence, ballot snatching and thuggery during the exercise.

“Police will not hesitate to arrest and prosecute any person or group of people found disrupting the peaceful political atmosphere the state is known for,” he said.

The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja on Sept. 30, 2023, ordered the rerun polls in the six state constituencies.

(NAN)