ALL is set for today’s supplementary election to determine the next governor of Bayelsa State.
The bulk of the deciding votes will come from Southern Ijaw Council, where election was cancelled on December 7, last year due to violence, ballot box snatching and stuffing, harassment and abduction of electoral officials.

Southern Ijaw Council has a total of 120, 827 registered voters, 425 polling units and five voting points.
About 38, 000 registered voters in 102 polling units across six councils of Brass, Ekeremor, Nembe, Sagbama, Yenagoa and Ogbia will also participate in today’s exercise to conclude the governorship election, which was earlier scheduled for Saturday, December 5, last year.

Though there are many candidates in today’s election, but it is a straight fight between Governor Seriake Dickson of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and his main rival, former governor, Chief Timipre Sylva of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Dickson is leading Sylva by about 33.000votes.
The contentious Southern Ijaw Council is expected to determine who occupies the Creek Haven Government House on February 15.
The two main parties are already up in arms against each other on the issue of the Southern Ijaw and have boasted to carry the day.

However, the turnout of voters may be another factor, as many of them have been leaving the riverine council in droves to avoid being caught up in any violence, as witnessed in the last exercise.
Already, security had been beefed up and Southern Ijaw was calm during the daytime yesterday.
But most of the violence acts are usually perpetrated during the night prior to the election day.
Resurging activities of former militants and their partisanship is likely to aggravate the situation.

Perhaps as a prelude, a brother of the Deputy Governor on Thursday escaped death by the whiskers when suspected political thugs invaded his residence in Ekeki in Yenagoa.
And less than 24 hours to the elections, unknown armed men reportedly attacked the home of Ekeremor and former Speaker of the state Assembly and a PDP chieftain, Boyelayefa Debekeme, at the Governor’s Lodge after disarming the policeman on duty.