The Independent National Electoral Commission has attributed the low voter turnout recorded during Saturday’s by-election in Kano State to the ongoing Ramadan fast and the perception that the contest involved only a few candidates.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state, Abdu Zango, made this known while addressing journalists during an assessment visit to polling units in Kano Municipal.
According to him, the exercise was peaceful and largely incident-free, with residents conducting themselves in an orderly manner throughout the process.
“As far as security is concerned, you can see for yourselves, no issue. It’s very unlike Kano,” Zango said. “We want to appreciate and commend citizens for behaving responsibly. There was no violence, no threat whatsoever, visible or invisible. We are very happy.”
He noted that a number of factors contributed to the low turnout.
“First of all, I think the timing—maybe Ramadan. Second, the general feeling is that this is a very small election involving only two major candidates and very few parties. Nine contestants, I think,” he stated.
Reacting to questions on the absence of some opposition parties and allegations against the commission, Zango said INEC had not received any formal complaints.
“We have not received any accusation or anything. Participation is entirely the responsibility of the parties. We don’t decide who participates. Whoever conducts primaries, submits a candidate, uploads the name, and satisfies the guidelines as contained in the Electoral Act is recognised as a candidate.
“That decision rests with the parties, and they are in the best position to answer why they chose not to participate,” he added.
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