The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the Kauran Namoda South state assembly constituency bye-election in Zamfara inconclusive.
State Returning Officer of the election, Professor Lawal Muhammad Sa’adu, from the Department of Physics at the Federal University Gusau (FUGUS), made the declaration shortly after receiving the results of the election from six wards in Kauran Namoda local government area of the state.
The six wards include Kyamberawa, Kagara, Kuryan Madaro, Saka Jiki, Banga, and Dan Isa.
Professor Sa’adu said the declaration became necessary to pave the way to conduct supplementary elections and declared who was re-elected.
“At the course of the results presentation, there were two registration areas that were affected by cancellation, not over-voting.
“Saka Jiki ward with code 006 had two affected polling units with the total registered voters as 1352 and the number of permanent voters card collected were 1298, while Kyamberawa ward with code 005 was affected by 3 polling units and the number of registered voters is 4088, while the total number of PVCs collected were 1964, the total number of registered when that election was cancelled was 5446, and the number of PVCs collected was 3265.
“Now the margin of differences between the leading political party, APC, which scored 7001, with the first runner-up, the PDP, which scored 5339, is 1662. This margin is less than the total number of PVCs collected in the registration areas where the election was cancelled,” he noted.
According to him, going by the provision of law in the manual for election officers page 73 note 30 condition for rerun and supplementary elections item B that says “where the margin lead between the leading candidates in an election is not in excess of the total number of collected PVCs of polling units where election were not held or cancelled in line with the section 24 sub-section 2 & 3, section 47 sub-section 2 of the electoral acts 2022 the returning officer shall decline to make a return until polls have been conducted in the affected polling units and the results collated into a new form EC8DA and subsequently recorded in to form EC8E for declaration and return.
Professor Sa’adu further said, based on the section that he just quoted, the difference between the leading political party, APC, and the first runner-up of the election, the PDP, is 1662; while the number of PVCs collected in those registration areas is 3265, the election would not be declared.
“We have to go for supplementary elections; therefore, I declared the election inconclusive,” the returning officer noted.
The Voice of Nigeria (VON) reports that Saturday’s Kauran Namoda South State Assembly Constituency by-election faced challenges in some polling units, including reports of over-voting and disruptions by political thugs. The overall process demonstrated the resilience of voters and the commitment of electoral officials to ensuring the conduct of the poll.
The Saturday, 16 August 2025, by-election was contested by fifteen political parties, where the All Progressive Congress (APC) candidate, Hon. Kamilu Sa’idu Kasuwar Daji, scored 7001 votes, while his closest contender of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Hon. Muhammad Lawal Kuryan, scored 5339 votes.
The by-election follows the death of the former representative, Hon. Aminu Ibrahim Kasuwar Daji who was elected under the platform of the All Progressive Congress (APC), and passed away on April 9th, 2025, and also INEC scheduled the poll for August 16, 2025, to fill the vacant position.