As part of efforts to ensure the success of Saturday’s legislative elections in Rivers State, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, will deploy a total of 10, 294 officers for the conduct of the election.

This was contained in a statement issued by the Deputy Director, Voter Education and Publicity of INEC, Nick Dazang.

According to the statement, INEC would deploy three returning officers for the three senatorial districts, 10 returning officers for the federal constituencies, 23 local government collating officers, and 221 registration area collation officers.

“57 Collation Officers (for collation only at registration areas); 231 supervisory presiding officers; 1,840 presiding officers; 6,609 assistant presiding officers (I, II and III); 661 assistant presiding officers (VP); 363 reserve APOs (5%) of APOs; 21 constituency supervisors ( three SDs; eight FCs;  and 10 SCs); 24 LGA supervisors; and 223 RA supervisors.”

The constituencies where the election is scheduled to hold are Rivers East, Rivers West and Rivers South-East senatorial districts.

Others are Akuku-Toru/Asari Toru, Degema/Bonny, Okrika/Ogu-Bolo, Etche/Omuma, Ikwere/Emohua, Khana Gokana, Eleme/Tai/Oyigbo, and Opobo/Nkoro/Andoni federal constituencies.

The rerun election will also take place in 10 state constituencies which are Eleme, Gokana, Asari-Toru I, Asari-Toru II, Andoni, Khana II, Etche II, Ikwere, Bonny and Degema.

The INEC spokesman recalled that the rerun election was originally scheduled for March 19, 2016 but was suspended due to violence.

He explained further that the suspended exercise was also characterised by “returns made under duress by those not authorized to do so; collation made without validation; voting concluded without collation; disruption of voting, and no voting at all in some areas.”

Dazang added, however, that the elections had been concluded in some of the constituencies, results declared and winners returned by the respective returning officers before the process was suspended.