Political Showdown In Kano As INEC Clears Six Parties For Dawakin Kudu By-Election

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has confirmed that six political parties will participate in Saturday’s Kano State House of Assembly by-election for the Dawakin Kudu Constituency.

According to Bush Radio Academy, the electoral commission is set to deploy 1,500 ad hoc personnel across the 303 polling units in the constituency as part of efforts to ensure a smooth and credible electoral process.

INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in Kano State, Abdu Zango, disclosed the preparations on Tuesday following a meeting of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security with heads of security agencies at the Kano State Police Command headquarters.

Zango explained that the commission had already distributed non-sensitive electoral materials, while the sensitive materials were expected to arrive on Wednesday ahead of the Saturday poll.

He assured residents of the commission’s readiness to conduct a peaceful, free and credible election, noting that lessons from previous electoral exercises would be applied to improve the process.

The REC also stated that INEC had collaborated with relevant security agencies to put adequate measures in place to guarantee the safety of voters, electoral officials and other stakeholders throughout the exercise.

Meanwhile, the Kano State Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Adamu Bakori, disclosed that security personnel would begin deployment across the constituency from Thursday.

Bakori assured residents that the police and other security agencies were fully prepared to maintain peace and provide a secure environment for the election.

The by-election was necessitated by the departure of the former occupant of the Dawakin Kudu State Constituency seat from the Kano State House of Assembly to assume a position in the House of Representatives.

INEC had earlier disclosed that the constituency has 162,445 registered voters, while 148,971 voters have collected their Permanent Voter Cards. The figure represents a PVC collection rate of 91.7 per cent.

With preparations reaching an advanced stage, attention is now focused on Saturday’s contest as the six participating political parties battle for control of the vacant Kano State House of Assembly seat.