The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced plans to conduct re-run and bye-elections nationwide in February.
The decision was revealed by the Chairman of INEC, Mahmood Yakubu during a meeting with political parties held at the Commission’s office in Abuja on Monday.
Yakubu said:
“With regard to 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.
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“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.”
Before confirming the exact date, INEC will convene a meeting to finalize the arrangements.
He said:
“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.
“Full delimitation details, including locations, number of Polling Units, registered voters, and Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) collected in each constituency will be uploaded to our website for public information.”
The INEV Chairman stated that as soon as the election litigations are over, 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.”
Monday’s gathering marks the first meeting since the off-cycle governorship elections in Bayelsa, Kogi, and Imo states.