BY AMOS DUNIA, ABUJA – The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), after the conclusion of its extra-ordinary meeting on Saturday declared the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Hon Bello Matawalle winner of the Zamfara state governorship election.
Chairman of the Commission, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, who announced the decision of INEC at a press conference in Abuja on Saturday, said the PDP won all but one of the elective positions in the state.
According to Yakubu, Kabiru Hassan of the National Rescue Movement (NRM) won the election in Maru south state constituency.
The INEC Chairman said the decision of the Commission followed the ruling of the Supreme Court sacking all the candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2019 general elections in Zamfara state.
The Supreme Court on Friday ruled that the APC did not conduct a valid party primary election and therefore voided its votes and declared them wasted.
The PDP governorship candidate, Matawalle had scored 189,452 to emerge second in the governorship election.
INEC Chairman cautioned political parties on the need to adhere to rules aimed at deepening democracy.
In his words; “It is clear that properly conducted party primaries are cardinal to the proper internal functioning of political parties, the electoral process and our democratic system at large.
“Therefore, political parties must take very seriously the conduct of primaries according to all extant rules, including the monitoring of the processes by INEC to avoid a repeat of the Zamfara experience.”
