INEC declares PDP winner of Zamfara elections

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Bello Matawalle of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) winner of Zamfara state governorship election. 

Mahmood Yakubu, INEC chairman, announced this during a press conference in Abuja on Saturday.

He also said the party won all but one of the elective positions in the state. Kabiru Hassan of the National Rescue Movement (NRM) won the election in Maru south state constituency.

Yakubu said this following the supreme court decision to sack all candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who participated in the state election.

The apex court had ruled that the party did not hold a valid primary election and subsequently voided its votes.

Matawalle had scored 189,452 to emerge second in the governorship election.

There are 36 elective positions in the state including three senatorial districts and seven house of representatives seats.

The INEC chairman said the governor, deputy governor-elect as well as incoming federal lawmakers will receive their certificates of return on Monday in Abuja while the state house of assembly-elect members will get theirs in Zamfara on Friday.

“I wish to seize this opportunity to draw the attention of all stakeholders, but particularly the political parties, to the implications of the supreme court judgment on the Zamfara matter,” he said.

“It is clear that properly conducted party primaries are cardinal to the proper internal functioning of political parties, the electoral process and our democratic system at large.

“Therefore, political parties must take very seriously the conduct of primaries according to all extant rules, including the monitoring of the processes by INEC to avoid a repeat of the Zamfara experience.”