NEWS >> In Bauchi, voting pattern shaped presidential, NASS elections
Anew voting pattern emerged in Bauchi State in the recently concluded presidential and National Assembly elections conducted on February 23.
This was observed in many polling units and wards where voters went for different candidates from different political parties, a clear departure from what obtained in the past.
A Hausa adage ‘sak’ that was very popular in previous elections when politicians hid behind the popularity of President Muhammadu Buhari to win elections was somehow demystified in Bauchi this time around.
The voters, men and women alike, appeared more sophisticated while selecting their prospective leaders.
At a certain unit in Bauchi metropolis, this is how the results looked like: President: APC, 988 PDP, 113. Senate: APC, 112; PDP, 861. REPS: APC, 108; PRP, 824; PDP,166.
The situation was the same in many polling units, at least in Bauchi, where people voted massively for President Buhari of the APC but selected candidates of other parties for the Senate and House of Representatives positions.
Though many of the candidates of the smaller parties did not win the elections, voters who spoke with Daily Trust said the sophistication exhibited will yield result in the coming years because politicians would no longer latch on the credibility of others to win elections.
It was observed that during last week’s elections, almost all the major opposition parties in Bauchi, PRP, NNPP, SDP, GPN among others, made a good showing.
In almost every polling unit, one of these parties either won or had some votes, especially for the National Assembly elections.
The APC, which is the ruling party in the state had the largest number of votes in the presidential election; but it faced stiff competition with other parties in the National Assembly elections.
In 1999, PDP dominated the political space leaving no room for any opposition party to have a way, talk less of winning a seat.
At that time, it was “winner takes all contest” when Ahmadu Adamu Mu’azu became governor on the platform of the PDP.
The same thing happened although to a lesser extent when Isa Yuguda was governor between 2007 and 2015.
Musa Azare, a political analyst, believed that the winner-takes-all pattern has changed because President Buhari had during his campaigns urged the electorate to go for the best.
“The president was very sincere, he told the electorate to vote people that would work for them. That played a significant role in changing the pattern of elections in Bauchi State.
“For the masses, the ‘Chanchanta’ slogan which literally means ‘vote for competence’ prompted the electorate to vote for candidates of other political parties after choosing Buhari for the presidency on APC platform,” he said.
According to him, the defection of many aspirants to other parties after the primaries also helped in changing the voting pattern in the state.
“Most of these candidates were given automatic tickets by the parties they defected to after they were denied tickets by the APC. So, it was not about APC, PDP, ANPP, SDP or PRP, but about competence. And other parties have members that defected and joined others because of grievances,” he also observed.
For Isah Garba Gadau, a journalist, the increased voter awareness and presence of alternative political parties also helped in changing the voting pattern.
“People are aware that the ‘Sak’ slogan by the APC in 2015 was the cause of the crises between the president and the National Assembly because the people who were voted to help him were the ones that opposed him despite being members of his party,” he said.
“That is why you will see a person after voting for Buhari or Atiku may vote for a Senate or House of Representatives candidate in a different party because he prefers him than the candidate in Buhari or Atiku’s party,” he said.
A voter, Bilyaminu Hassan, said he voted for President Muhammadu Buhari but voted for other candidates in two other parties for Senate and House of Representatives.
Another voter, Danlami Inuwa, who voted for Atiku said voting for competent people was more important than party affiliation.
Many analysts believed that the pattern adopted in Bauchi will determine the fate of many candidates in the governorship and state House of Assembly elections in Bauchi and other states.