Low turnout mars Rivers supplementary polls

Low turnout of voters on Saturday marred the supplementary elections in Abua/Odual, Gokana, Opobo/Nkoro and Ahoada West Local Government Areas of Rivers State for four constituencies in the state’s House of Assembly, which could not be concluded on March 9 as a result of violence, militarisation and thuggery.

It was gathered the voter apathy was as a result of fear of violence experienced across Rivers state during the February 23 presidential and National Assembly elections as well as the March 9 governorship and House of Assembly polls.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) conducted the supplementary elections in Gokana constituency with 129,086 registered voters, Opobo/Nkoro constituency with 7,344 registered voters; Ahoada West constituency with 36,692 registered voters and Abua/Odual constituency with 88,561 registered voters.

INEC’s Head, Voter Education and Publicity, Edwin Enabor, described the supplementary elections as peaceful and smooth.

He stated the electoral materials arrived at the various polling units on time without any hitch, while lauding security agencies to doing the needful.

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Enabor noted that since the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in Rivers refused to release youth corps members for the exercise, the electoral commission made use of its permanent staff and some students of the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) as ad hoc staff.

He also noted that on March 9, the House of Assembly elections were inconclusive in Opobo/Nkoro and Ahoada West state constituencies by margins of lead with the election disrupted in Gokana constituency.

But in Abua/Odual state constituency, supplementary election held because there was no deployment of electoral materials and men on March 9, indicating that there was no election at all in the LGA.

As at the time of filing the report, results of the elections were still being collated.