The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has commenced the distribution of sensitive election materials for Saturday’s Rivers South-East Senatorial District bye-election.
The exercise marks a major step in preparations for the poll, which will see over 858,000 registered voters head to the ballot box across the district.
The bye-election is being held to fill the vacant Senate seat left by the late Senator Barry Mpigi, who passed away in February.
On Thursday, election materials including ballot papers and result sheets were inspected at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) headquarters in Port Harcourt before being dispatched to various locations.
Representatives of major political parties were present during the inspection to verify the integrity of the materials and ensure transparency in the process.
Speaking during the exercise, Rivers State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Johnson Sinikiem, assured stakeholders that all materials were intact and had not been tampered with.
“Party agents are free to inspect them, and once there are no objections, they will be distributed,” he said.
INEC disclosed that 858,573 registered voters across 1,629 polling units are expected to participate in the election.
The commission added that the materials would be transported to local government areas and Registration Area Centres ahead of Saturday’s vote.
The senatorial district covers seven local government areas — Khana, Gokana, Tai, Eleme, Andoni, Opobo/Nkoro, and Oyigbo.
With preparations entering the final stage, attention is now focused on Saturday’s poll as voters prepare to elect a new representative for the district.
Source: Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
