PDP’s Mohammed Kasim thanks residents after winning Gwagwalada Area Council election

By Jude Opara, Abuja

Mohammed Kasim of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has extended his appreciation to the residents of the Gwagwalada Area Council after he emerged victorious in the just held Area Council elections in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
In an emotion laden statement, Kasim said he was humbled by the confidence reposed in him by the voters despite what he described as “unprecedented intimidation, high-powered deployment of funds and brazen executive brigandage”.
The PDP candidate secured 22,165 votes, to defeat his closest rival, Yahaya Shehu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who scored 17,788 votes.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Returning Officer, Philip Akpen who declared Kasim the winner, described the election as peaceful and smooth.
Kasim further assured the residents that he will not deviate from his campaign promises which focused on community welfare, women’s empowerment, improved healthcare, and enhanced education opportunities.
He added that the victory of the PDP in Gwagwalada is exceptional, given the party’s current challenges, including internal divisions and incessant defections to other parties.
A breakdown of the election results in shows that while the Area Council had 207,577 registered voters, only 46,294 people were accredited to vote. 43,960 valid votes were recorded while 1,521 votes were rejected.
In all, 11 political parties contested the election and the results are as follows:
The election was part of the FCT Council elections, which held in all six Area Councils including; Abaji, Bwari, Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Gwagwalada, Kuje and Kwali.