The candidate of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the Saturday bye-election into Mashi State constituency of Katsina State, Nazifi Yusuf Bello, has been declared winner of the election.
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However, the senator representing? Katsina North on the platform of the rival Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Senator Hadi Sirika, has condemned the election, accusing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of doing a shoddy job.
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INEC had conducted a bye-election for the constituency after it became vacant following the death of its former occupant, Surajo Mohammed Mashi.
Declaring the results, INEC's returning officer, Usman Abdullahi, said Nazifi Bello Yusuf of the PDP polled 27, 031 votes to defeat his rival, Hussaini Yau of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) who got 3,177? votes.
Our correspondent, who monitored the election, noted that the election? recorded a low voter turn-out, unlike what obtained in previous elections.
Meanwhile, Senator Sirika has accused INEC of failing to conduct election in 110 polling units of the constituency.
“From the record that I have, out of the 143 poling units that we have in Mashi, there was no election in 110 poling units; the election was conducted particularly in polling units that were by the road side,’’ he said.
He also alleged that most of the CPC agents were chased away from polling centres by suspected political thugs during the election, saying that the party would not accept the result.
The senator also blamed INEC for the noticeable voter aparty during the bye-election, accusing it of failing to make adequate preparations.