Bayelsa election declared inconclusive

The Independent National Electoral Commission INEC has cancelled the election in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area in the Saturday’s Bayelsa State governorship election and consequently declared the election inconclusive.

INEC said the decision was taken because of violence, the abduction of electoral officials and ballot box snatching.

The Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state, said going by the reports of substantial violence and irregularities received from officials and observers, “the commission has decided in the interest of the process’ integrity to cancel the governorship election in Southern Ijaw Local Government.”

He said a new date would be announced for the election in the local government, which has 120,827 registered voters and is the largest in the state.

Widespread violence had prevented the conduct of election in the local government on Saturday when the governorship election was held in other local governments.

Consequently, INEC held the election on Sunday, but despite the deployment of more security personnel to the LGA, the violence persisted – disrupting the process once again.

Supporters of Governor Seriake Dickson of the Peoples Democratic Party had staged a protest at the INEC office in Yenagoa, the state capital, calling for the cancellation of the election in Southern Ijaw.

Many of the protesters said they were not given the opportunity to vote and that the Federal Government used security operatives to hijack electoral materials in eight wards.

With the results for seven local governments collated, Dickson holds a 30,000+ vote lead over Timipre Sylva of the All Progressives Congress.

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