Rivers Assembly Crisis: Reruns, bye-elections will take place in two categories in 2024

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has revealed to Nigerians, how bye-election and rerun-elections will be conducted in 2024.

The Commission also said it is looking at conducting the elections in the first week of February 2024.

Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Mahmood Yakubu stated this at an extraordinary consultative meeting with political parties at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja on Monday.

The purpose of the meeting was to brief party leaders on the Commission’s preparation for the forthcoming elections to be held early in the new year.

The INEC Chairman explained that the elections are in two categories. First, in constituencies where rerun elections are required to be conducted by court order and secondly, in bye-elections to fill vacancies arising from the death or resignation of members of the National and State Houses of Assembly.

He said the Commission intends to combine and conduct the two categories of elections on the same day.

He reminded the political parties that re-run elections only involve the parties and candidates that participated in the general election unless a party wishes to replace a deceased candidate.

“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,” he added.

“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 made a commitment that the Commission will conduct elections to fill vacancies in the National and State Assembly constituencies.

“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.

He said a 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.”