Three days after the governorship election in Bayelsa State was declared inconclusive, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is yet to fix a date for the supplementary election in the Southern Ijaw local government area of the state.
INEC’s director, Voter Education and Publicity (VEP), Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi, said the commission was still consulting over the matter.
Chief Returning Officer for Bayelsa State 2015 governorship election, Prof. Zana Akpagu, had on Monday, announced that the election was inconclusive because of the violence witnessed in Southern Ijaw local government area.
The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Governor Seriake Dickson, was leading in six out of seven local government areas where the results were released.
But candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Timpre Sylva, rejected the cancellation of Souther Ijaw Local Government and is challenging the INEC’s decision in court. He won in only one local government.
However Uzzi said “We have not fixed a date for the supplementary election, we are still consulting. We will fixed a date after we finished the consultation,”.
He however did to state whether the consultation was in connection with the case instituted by Sylva against the cancellation of the election.
The Electoral Act gives INEC 14 days to conduct a supplementary election where there is an inconclusive poll.