Re-run and bye-elections to fill existing vacancies in the National Assembly and Houses of Assembly will hold in the first week of February next year, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said.
It said only candidates that participated in the last general election will be involved in the re-run.
For the bye-elections, parties will be allowed to conduct primaries to pick their candidates.
INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu charged party leaders at a meeting in Abuja to prepare for the election.
He said based on judgements by different courts, the rerun would be held in 34 federal and state constituencies made up of one in the Senate, 11 federal constituencies and 22 state constituencies.
According to him, 34 seats scheduled for the rerun constitute 2.8 percent of the total number of litigations filed after the 2023 general elections.
He added that INEC would conduct bye-elections to fill vacancies created by resignation or death of members.
Yakubu added that the exact date for the polls and a comprehensive timetable would be released soon.
He said: “The purpose of this meeting is to brief party leaders on the Commission’s preparation for the forthcoming elections to be held early in the new year.
“The elections are in two categories. First, as the Election Petition Appeal Tribunals set up in the aftermath of the 2023 general election gradually wind up their proceedings, the commission is required to conduct re-run elections in some constituencies by court order.
“Secondly, the commission is also required to conduct bye-elections to fill vacancies arising from the death or resignation of members of the National and State Houses of Assembly.
“The commission intends to combine and conduct the two categories of elections on the same day, the details of which were discussed at the meeting.
“As you are aware, re-run elections only involve the parties and candidates that participated in the general election unless a party wishes to replace a deceased candidate.
However, bye-elections are fresh elections. Consequently, political parties must conduct fresh primaries within the limited time provided by law.
“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.
