Three major opposition political parties are absent from the ballot in Saturday’s bye-election conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Kano State.
The affected parties are the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), and a coalition involving the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
INEC has, however, declared its readiness to conduct what it described as a free, fair, and credible by-election in the Municipal and Ungogo state constituencies.
The off-season poll is being held to fill two vacant seats in the Kano State House of Assembly following the deaths of the former lawmakers last year.
At a recent media briefing, the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Kano, Abdul Zango, assured journalists that all political parties were participating in the exercise.
However, the final list of candidates released by the commission showed that only nine political parties were cleared to contest, excluding the PDP, NNPP, and ADC.