Voters in Zamfara State have shunned the local government election, resulting in very poor participation at the polling units and leaving electoral officers dormant across the 14 councils of the state.
Our correspondent reports that the absence of the main opposition party, APC, in the list of participating parties as recorded by the Zamfara State Independent Electoral Commission (ZASIEC) was a major factor.
Many residents went about their normal businesses in Gusau, the state capital, some pretending not to be aware of any local government elections taking place.
Ibrahim Musa, a provision store owner along Tudun Wada Road, told our correspondent that he chose to boycott the election believing that no step was taken by ZASIEC in running the election.
‘’I don’t want to waste my time, after all, the list of winners is already there waiting for announcement even before closing time,’’ he said.
According to Abdullahi Maina, a meat seller at Samaru area of Gusau, the election will no doubt be a one-man show as there was no competition from other political parties.
Reports from various local government areas indicated that the situation was the same as that of Gusau. Farmers and traders were busy attending to their normal businesses while many others remained at home.
The chairman of ZASIEC, Bala Aliyu, could not be reached for comment, but in his pre-election address, he said all measures had been taken by the commission to mobilise voters.
Governor Dauda Lawal cast his vote at his polling unit 02 in Women Centre, Madawaki under Galadima Ward by 10: 45am.
Speaking to newsmen shortly after, he said the turnout of voters was commendable, and called for peaceful election across the state.
He said the election was hitch-free, and appealed to the people to cooperate in making it smooth.
