INEC declares Taraba guber poll inconclusive

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Monday declared as “inconclusive” the governorship election in Taraba state.

The commission ordered a rerun in some polling units in 30 days.

The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Darius Dickson Ishaku won the poll in nine local governments areas with 317,198 votes, while Aisha Alhassan of the All Progressives Congress (APC) won six local government areas 262,386 votes to come second .

But the Returning Officer for Taraba Prof. Mohammed Kyari said since the number of cancelled votes was more than the number of the difference in votes (margin) between PDP and the APC, there was need to re-conduct the election in the affected areas.

Kyari said: “Since the number of the cancelled votes is more than the difference between the two leading parties, the election in Taraba state is therefore inconclusive.”


INEC said it cancelled the polls in those areas because of irregularities and pockets of violence.

PDP won with a difference of 54,812 votes, while the number of the cancelled votes in all the affected polling units amounted to 127,125 votes.

INEC said there would be rerun in Donga local government area and some polling units in Chanchanji Ward in Takum “where votes were rejected.”
The rerun in Donga would be across its entire 165 polling units which the PDP earlier claimed to have won.