By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor

The race for political supremacy in Rivers State enters its final stretch this week as the two major political parties, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and All Progressives Congress, APC, get set for this weekend’s elections for 36 National Assembly and state constituencies.

All three Senate seats, 11 of the 12 federal constituencies and 22 of the 32 state constituencies are up for grabs at the re-run elections ordered by the Court of Appeal following petitions against the earlier declarations by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, during the 2015 general elections.

The PDP, had won all National Assembly, state constituencies, and the governorship polls in the 2015 general election in March and April 2015.

The elections were, however, generally faulted by the APC.

The APC had, ahead of the last general election, alleged highhandedness on the part of security agencies and collaboration between the election regulators, INEC, security agencies and the PDP, which at that time controlled the Federal Government.

At that time, the APC, through Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, was in control of the state government.

The 2015 campaigns and elections were, however, marked with violence leading to as many as 94 deaths as confirmed by an inquiry established by the former administration.

Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, chairman of the commission, said the confirmed deaths between November 2014 and May 2015 were out of 275 violations of property and lives reported to the commission.

With the office of governor resolved in favour of the PDP by the Supreme Court decision of last February, this weekend’s legislative contests may have opened a reversal of offices in the principal protagonists in the 2015 elections , former Governor Amaechi and his successor, Governor Nyesom Wike.