INEC to conduct bye-elections in 34 constituencies February

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has on Monday said it is going to conduct bye-elections and rerun elections across the country on Thursday, February 1, 2024, to fill existing vacancies in 34 constituencies made up of one Senatorial Districts, 11 Federal Constituencies, and 22 State Assembly constituencies.

The INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu who made this known at a meeting with leaders of political parties to brief them on the Commission’s preparation for the forthcoming elections to be held early in the new year in Abuja affirmed that the 34 constituencies constitute 2.8% of the 1,191 petitions filed by litigants.

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He said, that out of the 34 re-run elections, it is only in three cases that the Commission was ordered by the Election Petition Appeal Tribunals to conduct elections in the entire constituencies while in the other 31 constituencies, elections are to be held in a few polling units.

“Concerning the bye-elections, you may recall that in my recent address at the swearing-in of new Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) which was combined with our last quarterly meeting with the RECs nationwide, I made a commitment that the Commission will conduct elections to fill vacancies in the National and State Assembly constituencies.

“As you are aware, re-run elections only involve the parties and candidates that participated in the general election unless a party wishes to replace a deceased candidate.

“The Commission is looking at the first week of February 2024 i.e. in just a little over one month to conduct both the re-run and bye-elections. At the end of this consultative meeting, the Commission will meet to review preparations and announce a definite date, including the detailed Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the elections.

“I want to assure you that at the end of all the litigations, including the Governorship elections pending on appeal at the Supreme Court, the Commission will present a comprehensive analysis of the petitions, including cases where the Commission was ordered to issue Certificates of Return to other candidates and the reasons for the decisions by the Courts as part of the lessons learned from the 2023 General Election for the consequential reforms to improve the conduct of future elections,” he said.

Yakubu mentioned that the full delimitation details, including locations, number of Polling Units, registered voters, and Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) collected in each constituency will be uploaded to it’s website for public information.

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INEC Chairman therefore called on the political parties to conduct fresh primaries within the limited time provided by law.