The Independent National Electoral Commission has revealed that it will conduct reruns and bye-elections across the country in February 2024 to fill existing vacancies in the state and federal legislatures.
INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, made this known at a meeting with leaders of political parties in Abuja on Monday.
He noted that at the end of litigation, the courts ordered the commission to conduct rerun elections in 34 federal and state constituencies, made up of one in the Senate, 11 federal constituencies, and 22 state constituencies.
He said: “So far, the Election Petition Appeal Tribunals have ordered the Commission to conduct re-run elections in 34 constituencies made up of one Senatorial District, 11 Federal Constituencies, and 22 State Assembly constituencies.
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“However, the 34 constituencies constitute 2.8% of the 1,191 petitions filed by litigants. Significantly, out of the 34 re-run elections, it is only in three cases that the Commission was ordered to conduct elections in the entire constituencies. In the other 31 constituencies, elections are to be held in a few polling units.
“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.
“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.” Independent National Electoral Commission has revealed that it will conduct reruns and bye-elections across the country in February 2024 to fill existing vacancies in the state and federal legislatures.
