Politics
Senatorial Rerun: INEC Rejects Akpabio Withdrawal
There are indications that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, may have rejected the new candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress APC for Saturday’s rerun elections in Akwa Ibom Northwest Senatorial District.
Following the appointment of its candidate, Sen. Godswill Akpabio as Minister for Niger Delta Affairs, APC had last month forwarded a replacement to INEC for the rerun election slated for this Saturday.
However, speaking Tuesday in Abuja during the swearing-in of two new Resident Electoral Commissioners RECs, Dr Alalibo Sinikiem Johnson from Bayelsa State and Umar Mukhtar Gajiram from Borno State, Chairman of the Commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu said since the rerun elections are court-ordered exercises, political parties are barred by law from substituting their candidates.
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“On Saturday this week, elections will hold in 28 constituencies spread across 11 States of the Federation. Six of these elections involve entire constituencies while 22 elections will be held only in some polling units.
“In all the constituencies, the elections will be contested by the same political parties and candidates that participated in the 2019 general election except where the elections were nullified on grounds of candidate disqualification.
“The two affected constituencies are Gamawa Federal Constituency in Bauchi State and Agwara State Constituency in Niger State where elections will be held without the candidates and parties that were declared winners in the general election.
“There will be no substitution of candidates as these are not bye-elections but court-ordered re-run elections and the period for nomination of candidates had elapsed since the end of 2018 in preparation for the 2019 general election”, Yakubu said.
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