The Ganye Constituency bye-election in Adamawa State is being conducted peacefully across all polling units in the Local Government Area.
Accreditation and voting commenced at about 8:30 am local time in most polling units, with impressive voter turnout recorded.
Security personnel were stationed in all polling units to ensure order throughout the exercise.
Voting which commenced by 8:30 am local time ended at 2:30 pm, although officials confirmed that all voters already on the queue by the closing time would be allowed to cast their ballots, while no one would be permitted to join after the deadline.
Only two political parties—the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are participating in the election.
Vote Counting
Counting of votes as at the time of this reporting has commence immediately after the close of voting.
Minor hitches were reported in two polling units where voting machines experienced technical difficulties, but these were promptly addressed by officials.
The by-election followed the death of the former lawmaker representing the constituency, Abdulmalik Jauro of the APC, in May 2024. He was also the Deputy Minority Leader of the Adamawa State House of Assembly.
Both the APC and PDP are keenly contesting the seat, each claiming dominance in the constituency.
While the PDP insists Ganye is its traditional stronghold, the APC maintains it demonstrated supremacy by producing the late lawmaker in the 2023 election.
Adamawa PDP Chairman, Ahmed Shehu, speaking at a polling centre in Ganye, alleged that the APC was engaging in vote buying by distributing commodities and cash to the electorate.
“We have told our people to accept whatever APC is giving them but to make the right choice,” he said.
In response, an APC stalwart and member of the national monitoring committee for the by-election, Dahiru Hammandikko, dismissed the allegations as unfounded.
“We hear of such things all the time, but in this by-election, it is certainly baseless. The APC will win in a free and fair contest,” he declared.
Meanwhile, an atmosphere of calm prevailed across Ganye as residents turned out to elect a new representative for the state House of Assembly.
Confidence Okwuchi