A re-run election holds today, (Saturday) in Southern Ijaw and six other local government areas in Bayelsa State to conclude the governorship election earlier declared inconclusive by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Ahead of the election, INEC revised its guidelines for the re-run, making it possible for accreditation and voting to go on simultaneously.
An official of the electoral body, Mustapha Lecky, said that the decision would help fast-track the exercise.
Mr Lecky told reporters that all the parties had given their consent to the revised guidelines.
According to the new document, accreditation and voting will go on simultaneously while ad-hoc officials, observers and journalists are to be given life jackets because of the terrain.
Materials had earlier been distributed to Registration Area Center to make room for easy movement of the materials to polling units.
“There is a lot of benefit in doing that. This means that we will conclude the polling quite early,” Mr Lecky said in optimism.
According to the INEC official, the polling units will open by 8:00am, with a plan to close voting by 2:00pm local time.
Security has also been beefed up with the police deploying more officials in the state.
The Southern Ijaw Local Government Election was cancelled on the December 7, 2015, due to violence, ballot box snatching and stuffing, harassment and abduction of electoral officials.
Southern Ijaw Local Government has a total of 120, 827 registered voters, 425 Polling Units and five Voting Points.
Thirty-eight thousand registered voters in 102 Polling Units across six Local Governments – Brass, Ekeremor, Nembe, Sagbama, Yenagoa and Ogbia – will also participate in the election to conclude the Bayelsa State governorship election earlier scheduled for Saturday, December 5, 2015.
