By Damilare Adeleye
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has fixed Saturday, 3rd February 2024 for the conduct of bye-elections and court-ordered re-run elections in various constituencies.
This was contained in a release containing the timetable for the elections as issued on Friday by Sam Olumekun, National Commissioner & Chairman, Information Voter Education Committee.
The electoral umpire expressed readiness to conduct bye-elections resulting from the resignation or demise of members of the National and State Houses of Assembly whose seats have been declared vacant by the Presiding Officers including the Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and Speakers of State Houses of Assembly.
The Commission also noted that the vacancies occurred across two Senatorial Districts, four Federal Constituencies, and three State Constituencies across nine States of the Federation.
INEC, who further disclosed that it is conducting re-run elections “stemming from the 2023 General Election, as directed by various Election Petition Appeal Tribunals, stated that 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 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.
“We urge parties and candidates to strictly adhere to the specified timelines for the seamless conduct of these elections,” the statement added.