Voters in Katsina State’s Kankara/Faskari/Sabuwa Federal Constituency are expected to be given sufficient protection and a credible rerun election on February 3, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Yahaya Makarfi, the state’s resident electoral commissioner, gave this promise at a stakeholders’ meeting in Katsina.

Following a Court of Appeal order for new elections in 20 voting places spread over two registration areas in the local government regions of Faskari and Kankara, the election will be rerun. According to Mr. Makarfi, the impacted polling units are 16 in the Garagi registration area of Kankara Local Government Area and 4 in the Daudawa registration region of Faskari Local Government region.

With 10,659 registered voters and 10,652 collected permanent voter cards in the identified polling units, INEC is actively preparing for the election. Mr. Makarfi emphasized the importance of stakeholder cooperation to ensure a smooth electoral process. He assured that stringent security measures would be implemented to prevent any breach of the law.

Addressing the stakeholders, Mr. Makarfi issued a warning against vote-buying, categorizing it as a criminal offense. He emphasized that security agents would not hesitate to arrest anyone found engaging in such activities.

During the meeting, the police commissioner was represented by Halilu Aliyu, the assistant commissioner of police in Katsina State, who reaffirmed the promise to send out a sufficient number of policemen for the exercise. Mr. Aliyu declared travel limits within the impacted areas, issued a warning against election law infractions and thuggery, and made it plain that elected officials or authorities who made mistakes would face legal repercussions.

The emphasis on security precautions and following electoral regulations highlights INEC’s commitment to holding a transparent and credible electoral process as the plans for the Katsina rerun election move forward. For the rerun election to be successful and to preserve the democratic values of integrity and fairness, stakeholders must take an active role in the process.