Abuja — Voting is underway in the Kano State House of Assemblyp by-elections for the Ungogo and Kano Municipal constituencies, with turnout reported as low in many polling units and the landscape shaped by the absence of several major political parties.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) confirmed that the by-elections are being conducted to fill two vacant seats in the State Assembly following the deaths of the former lawmakers who represented those constituencies.
What stands out in today’s contest is that three prominent parties — the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) — are not on the ballot in either the Ungogo or Kano Municipal contests.
According to INEC’s final list of cleared candidates, only nine parties are participating, including the All Progressives Congress (APC) alongside smaller parties such as the Accord Party (A), Action Democratic Party (ADP), Action Peoples Party (APP), African Action Congress (AAC), Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Young Progressives Party (YPP), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
Field reports indicate that voter apathy has been a defining feature of the exercise, with many polling units seeing only handfuls of voters in the morning hours. At several Ungogo Local Government Area polling units, just single-digit participation was recorded out of hundreds of registered voters, underscoring the subdued public engagement.
With the absence of NNPP, PDP, and ADC candidates and limited turnout, analysts stress that no meaningful assessment of party performance can yet be made.
There is no indication at this stage that the APC has “won” the by-elections, because final results will only be known after collation and announcement by INEC.
INEC has said it will collate and release results once voting concludes across all units, as dictated by electoral procedure.
Until those official figures are published, it remains premature to declare any party as the winner.
Observers are also watching closely for any legal or administrative reactions from the excluded parties, particularly the NNPP factions that claimed they had submitted candidates but were not recognized on the ballot.
Headlinenews.news will provide confirmed outcomes as soon as INEC concludes collation and makes an official declaration.
Headlinenews.news Special report.
