The chairmanship contest at LEA Primary School, Kubwa II, in Bwari Area Council has so far been defined less by party dominance and more by striking voter apathy, as early results from four polling units reveal a tight race and unusually low turnout.
Although figures released by officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) show the African Democratic Congress (ADC) slightly ahead of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in cumulative votes, the margins remain narrow and the overall participation minimal.
Out of 4,063 registered voters across the polling centre, only 181 were accredited and voted, a turnout observers described as one of the weakest recorded in the area in recent times.
In the early chairmanship tally, the ADC polled 67 votes, APC secured 40, while the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) garnered 21 and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) received 20 votes. Other parties trailed behind.
A breakdown of results from the polling units highlights both the slim margins and the low participation.
At Unit 044, just 32 voters were accredited out of 755 registered voters. The ADC led the chairmanship vote with 20, followed by the APC with 7, while APGA, Accord and the PDP picked up marginal votes. In the councillorship race at the same unit, the ADC again topped the chart.
Unit 045 recorded 34 voters from a register of 747. The ADC narrowly edged the APC in the chairmanship vote, while the councillorship contest ended in a tie between the two leading parties.
In Unit 047, the ADC maintained a clear lead in the chairmanship category, while votes were more spread out among parties in the councillorship ballot.
Unit 006, which has the largest voter register of 1,805, recorded 83 accredited voters. Here, the APC slightly outperformed the ADC in both chairmanship and councillorship votes, reflecting the competitive nature of the contest.
The exercise was not without challenges. A temporary disruption occurred when a BVAS device ran out of battery power, forcing voters to provide personal power banks to enable officials to continue accreditation and voting. There were also isolated reports of vote buying.
With only a fraction of registered voters participating, the early results suggest that turnout rather than overwhelming party strength may ultimately shape the outcome of the race at Kubwa II.
