Voting to determine who will represent Khana Constituency 2 in the Rivers State House of Assembly has concluded, with the focus now shifting to the final collation of results at the collation centre in Bori, the Khana Local Government headquarters.
The bye-election, conducted across 16 polling units in the constituency, recorded generally low voter turnout. However, higher activity was observed at the polling unit of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate compared to other units.
In a notable development, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials left Polling Unit 13 for the collation centre without counting the votes at the unit.
Two major opposition parties were absent from the ballot papers. The parties listed on the ballot included the Action Alliance (AA), APC, New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Young Progressives Party (YPP), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
Channels Television reported that the restriction of movement order issued for the election period was largely not observed, as markets and other small businesses remained open during voting.
Some voters and candidates expressed satisfaction with the process, describing the voting as free, fair, and peaceful.
Earlier, Governor Siminalayi Fubara urged residents of Rivers State to participate actively in the bye-election scheduled for Saturday, February 21. In a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Onwuka Nzeshi, the governor specifically called on eligible voters in Ahoada East and Khana Local Government Areas to turn out in support of APC candidates contesting the two vacant State House of Assembly seats.
“Everybody should be law-abiding and avoid doing anything that will disturb the peace during the exercise. It is actually a family election, and there is no need for rancour and acrimony,” Fubara said.
INEC is concurrently conducting elections across the six area councils of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), alongside bye-elections in Ahoada East II and Khana II state constituencies in Rivers State, as well as in Kano Municipal and Ungogo constituencies in Kano State.
