The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has announced that it will conduct re-runs and by-elections simultaneously in nine states of the federation affected on Saturday, February 3, 2024.
It said these vacancies were declared by the presiding officers of the National Assembly—the Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives—and speakers of state houses of assembly.
INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, said in a statement issued on Friday that the commission has approved the timetable and schedule of activities for conducting by-elections resulting from the resignation or demise of members of the National Assembly and state houses of assembly.
Olumekun noted that the vacancies occurred across two senatorial districts, four federal constituencies, and three state constituencies, spanning nine states of the federation.
He added: “Furthermore, the Commission is conducting re-run elections stemming from the 2023 general election as directed by various election petition appeal tribunals.
“Currently, 35 constituencies are affected by these court-ordered elections. While three cover entire constituencies, others involve only a few polling units. Both categories of elections are scheduled to take place simultaneously in all affected constituencies on Saturday, February 3, 2024.”
According to Olumekun, the timetable for the elections, along with detailed delimitation data—registration areas, polling unit names, the number of registered voters, and PVCs collected—have been uploaded on the commission’s website and social media platforms as a guide to political parties and candidates and for public information.
The electoral body, therefore, urged political parties and candidates to strictly adhere to the specified timelines for the seamless conduct of these elections.