Voters in some polling units in Bauchi State have turned out in their numbers to vote in Saturday’s re-run polls to determine their representatives after the separate court judgments that nullified March 2023 elections in some voting units.
However, the massive vote-buying marred the exercise as party agents and the voters physically exchanged PVCs for cash at the polling centres.
Pictures and voices recorded suggest that attempts to influence the electoral process through the exchange of money were prevalent in several areas across the state.
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Bauchi re-run election was held across 42 Polling Units in four State Assembly Constituencies comprising Bauchi Central, Zungur/Galambi, Ningi 1 and Madara/Chinade.
Galambi/Miri state constituency has Saidu Zannan Galambi (PDP), and Ibrahim Isah Yuguda son of former Governor of Bauchi state (APC) were sole candidates.
At most of the voting centres visited by WikkiTimes, voting commenced early with a massive turnout of voters, especially women.
At Mararaba Liman Katagum PU 10 Bauchi Central State Constituency recorded a similarly large turnout of voters. The unit has 3,489 registered voters. The candidate of the PDP got 381 votes while APC got 351 votes.
WikkiTimes also recorded some voices at the scene of the voting in Mararaban Liman Katagum PU 10 where votes were massively bought and sold.
VOICES:
In Hausa language, one of the supporters of the APC lamented the laxity of his party for not buying enough votes as the other party did.
“They (APC) don’t want to give money, PDP is giving out huge money for votes but ours they are not giving out and this is not going well. I swear to God I saw how they (PDP) were distributing money from N20,000 to N30,000 at different points. They distributed over N500,000 there. All these groups are sharing money for votes.
“Ours (APC) said one must vote first before they give out the money – who will listen to them? I have with me over 50 names waiting for the money before they cast their votes. This will affect our performance and the outcome. They come in groups of fives and tens. All is vote buying business; this is the fact.”
A woman identified as Sa’a took an oath to vote for APC in exchange for cash. “I swear to Almighty God, I and my people will vote for APC,” as read by one APC stalwart and she read it repeatedly.
After the swearing-in, she was promised N2,000 for each of the 12 PVCs she presented.
PARTIES CLAIM INNOCENCE
Despite the evidence of vote buying at the polling unit, Alhaji Yakubu Jibrin, one of the APC leaders in Mararaban Liman Katagun community insisted that they presented a good candidate that did not require buying votes “and convinced the voters of his credibility,” he said.
Hon. Abdullahi Matori, one of the key officials who has much influence in the APC also denied the vote buying from their party members. According to him, APC has a credible candidate that already won the hearts of the voters. “So no need for buying votes.”
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Lawal Abdullahi PDP stalwart in the community lamented the vote buying but blamed the APC. “We are not buying votes from anybody since ours is a good candidate. It is APC that is buying votes,” he alleged.
At the Bauchi Unity College polling centre, the voters also came en mass in the early hours of the voting day. The unit has 1362 registered voters.
The vote counting at the unit commenced at 14:30 where the two leading parties APC and PDP garnered 188 and 113 votes respectively.
Generally, there was massive vote buying in Saturday’s re-run election across polling units in the state with physical bargaining of how much each PVC would cost.
However, WikkiTimes gathered that the vote buying started weeks before the election day where candidates in the name of seeking votes, entice voters with incentives in kind and mostly in cash.
Despite the concerns about the massive vote buying, election observers said the polls were generally peaceful as security personnel were deployed across polling units to ensure order.
