Hoodlums have reportedly disrupted the supplementary election taking place in nine political wards in the Kankara Local Government Area of Katsina State.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is conducting the state House of Assembly supplementary elections in three state House of Assembly seats which include Kankara, Kurfi, and Kankia.
A Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Collation Agent in charge of Kankara Constituency, Nuruddeen Sani, made the allegation on Saturday, describing the situation as unbecoming and disappointing.
According to the agent, the process hitherto started successfully, but later turned violent as strange faces which he claimed are All Progressives Congress (APC) stakeholders, party agents and local government council chairmen and their divisional police officers tempered the process.
He explained that the electoral materials were snatched by the suspected hoodlums in the presence of the police and other security agents thereby intimidating the PDP agents.
He, however, called on the electoral umpire to immediately declare and give a certificate of return to the Kankara PDP House of Assembly Candidate, Lawal Audu, as the winner of the supplementary election as he was leading with 6,104 votes out of the 11,000 votes cast in the recent election.
“The Kankara LGA Chairman, Anas Isah had already mobilized thugs to disrupt the election process. As per as we are concerned, the election did not hold in all the polling units here.
“Wawar-Kaza, Kuka-Sheka, Burdugau, Pauwa A, Pauwa B, Danmarago, and Dan Maidaki are some of the political wards affected.
“Three Local Government Council Chairmen were mobilised to disrupt the process,” he added.
It was gathered that the supplementary election is being conducted across 88 polling units in Kankara, Kankia, and Kurfi Local Government Councils due to overvoting, destruction of INEC property, and violence where a total of 63,811 voters were affected.
It also observed that the elections commenced at about 8:30 a.m and were rounded off by mid-afternoon where both sensitive and non-sensitive materials have been distributed to the designated areas.
In Kurfi Constituency, the election was conducted across six wards and six polling units located at the hinterland some of which visited include Barkiya, Wurma, and Kurfi B.
In Kankara Constituency, the 0011 Katoge polling unit located at the Government Day Secondary School, Kankara where two major parties are participating with 493 registered voters.
In an interview with the Kankara LGA Chairman, Hon. Anas Isah, he expressed high hope that APC is going to win the election. He also described the turnout as very impressive.