The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that it will conduct nine bye-elections and 35 re-run elections on February 3, 2024, in nine states of the federation. These elections are meant to fill the vacant seats in the National Assembly and the state assemblies that resulted from various reasons, such as resignation, death, or court judgement.
A bye-election is an election that is held to replace an elected official who has resigned, died, or been recalled from office. A re-run election is an election that is held to repeat or conclude an election that was declared inconclusive or nullified by a court of competent jurisdiction.
According to the INEC timetable, the bye-elections will be held in two senatorial districts and five federal constituencies, while the re-run elections will be held in 35 state constituencies. The states where the elections will take place are Lagos, Ondo, Kebbi, Taraba, Yobe, Benue, Kaduna, Ebonyi and Borno.
The bye-elections in the senatorial districts are due to the appointment of Dave Umahi and Ibrahim Geidam as ministers by President Bola Tinubu. They were senators representing Ebonyi South and Yobe East respectively until they resigned to join the federal executive council.
The bye-elections in the federal constituencies are due to the resignation of Femi Gbajabiamila, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, and Tanko Sununu, who were appointed as the Chief of Staff to the President, the Minister of Interior, and the Minister of State for Education respectively.
They were representing Surulere I in Lagos, Akoko North-east/ Akoko North-west in Ondo, and Yauri/ Shanga/ Ngaski in Kebbi. The bye-election in Jalingo/ Yorro/ Zing federal constituency in Taraba is due to the death of Ismaila Maihanchi, who passed away before the inauguration of the 10th National Assembly.
The re-run elections in the state constituencies are due to the cancellation or nullification of the results of the 2023 general election in some polling units by INEC or the courts. The re-run elections will be held in 35 state constituencies across nine states, with the highest number of re-run elections in Kaduna (13), followed by Benue (10), and Borno (5).
Some of the state constituencies where the re-run elections will take place are Guma in Benue State, with one LGA, 116 PUs and 63,529 registered voters; Chibok in Borno State, comprising one LGA, 118 PUs and 55,498 registered voters; and Chikun in Kaduna State, involving 543 PUs and 334,071 registered voters.
INEC has therefore announced February 3, 2024 as the date for all the re-run and bye-elections across the affected states of the country.
Credit: CDD War Room
