Citing Violence, Ballot Snatching, INEC Suspends Rivers Bye-election

The Independent National Electoral Commission yesterday suspended Port Harcourt Constituency 3 bye-election, citing widespread violence, ballot snatching and other electoral infractions.

Announcing the suspension of the election, the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Obo Effanga said elections had started peacefully but that midway into the exercise, hoodlums unleashed violence on both voters and electoral officials with armed security officials giving them cover.

Effanga said: “The commission in full readiness for the said election deployed personnel and materials to the 142 polling units involved. The election commenced peacefully in all the units with all the INEC personnel with their materials reporting to their duty posts well ahead of time.

“However, midway into the3 elections, miscreants and hoodlums accompanied by heavily armed security personnel in uniform stormed the various polling units and Registration Areas disrupting voting activities, destroying and carting away election materials including smart card readers and ballot boxes.”

In addition, the resident commissioner noted that many electoral officials were manhandled, injured and held hostage.

He said the commission in accordance with the provisions of Section 26 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) had decided to suspend the elections forthwith as a result of this widespread and wanton disruption of the electoral process as reported from the field by the supervising presiding officers and supervisors from the commission and also having reviewed the situation,

In most of the polling units THISDAY visited, there were reports of violence, ballot snatching and vote buying.

Some big wigs of the All Progressive Congress (APC) were seen escorted by heavily armed security personnel moving from one polling unit to the other and collecting the ballot boxes.

They were also seen luring voters with cash ranging from N2,000 to N5,000. Unconfirmed report said one person was killed at National Filling Station in Mile 3, Diobu.

At Obaziolu Street, Mile 3, Chief Azubike Nmerukini, father of the PDP candidate, Chiemaka Nmerukini, ran for his dear life when suspected APC thugs invaded the Ward 18 Polling area meters from his home, snatched the ballot boxes, leaving victims with various degrees of broken bottle injuries on their trail.