INEC fixes Feb 3 for 44 re-run, bye-elections

The Independent National Electoral  Commission (INEC) has fixed February 3, 2024 to conduct 44 supplementary elections.

Sam Olumekun, National Commissioner and Chairman Information Voter Education Committee (IVEC) of INEC said this on Friday in a statement tagged ‘timetable and schedule of activities for bye-elections and court-ordered re-run elections’.

Daily Trust reports that the elections comprise nine bye-elections and 35 court-ordered re-run elections.

“The commission has approved the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for conducting bye-elections resulting from the resignation or demise of Members of the National and State Houses of Assembly.

“These vacancies were declared by the Presiding Officers that is the Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and Speakers of State Houses of Assembly.

“The vacancies occurred across two Senatorial Districts, four Federal Constituencies, and three State Constituencies spanning nine states of the federation,” Olumekun said.

He said that the commission is also conducting re-run elections stemming from the 2023 general elections, as directed by various Election Petition Appeal Tribunals.

According to him, currently, 35 constituencies are affected by these court-ordered elections.

While three cover entire constituencies, others involve only a few polling units (PUs).

“Both categories of elections are scheduled to take place simultaneously in all affected constituencies on Saturday 3rd February 2024.

“The Timetable for the elections, along with detailed delimitation data (i.e. registration areas, polling unit names, the number of registered voters and PVCs collected), has been uploaded to our website and social media platforms as a guide to political parties and candidates, and for public information,” he added.

He urged parties and candidates to strictly adhere to the specified timelines for the seamless conduct of these elections.