The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Tuesday insisted it will conclude the Kogi State gubernatorial elections even after the death of Prince Abubakar Audu, the gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
INEC had declared the election inconclusive on Sunday, after it discovered discrepancies that led to the cancellation of elections in some polling units. INEC said it declared the election inconclusive as the total number of votes cancelled was more than the lead margin polled by the APC’s candidate, Audu.
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News of Audu’s death filtered into the media on Sunday afternoon, hours after INEC had declared the Kogi election inconclusive. The electoral body said it would announce a date for supplementary elections to be conducted.
Audu died on Sunday morning while the votes were still being collated. He was reportedly leading the polls ahead of PDP’s Idris Wada before he passed on. The incident of his death threw up a dicey constitutional and legal crisis as the Nigerian constitution and the Electoral Act had no anticipatory provisions for the peculiar situation of Audu’s death.
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Below is an official statement from INEC on Tuesday indicating it will proceed to conclude the Kogi State gubernatorial election even after the demise of the candidate who was reportedly leading.
The statement says it will allow the APC present a new candidate who will inherit Audu’s already existing votes and represent the party in the supplementary elections scheduled for December 5, 2015.
