The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has urged political parties to nominate fresh candidates for upcoming bye-elections into state and federal legislative positions.
The call was made by INEC Chairman Prof Mahmood Yakubu during the first quarterly meeting with political parties on Wednesday.
Yakubu said the Commission has been dealing with the responsibility of filling vacancies in 23 constituencies that have occurred over the last year and a half since the current national and state assemblies were inaugurated in June 2023. He said despite conducting nine bye-elections early last year, 14 more vacancies have arisen.
According to the INEC boss, bye-elections are difficult to conduct because they are unpredictable, unbudgeted, and difficult to plan in advance.
He said there are instances where a member of the House of Representatives wins a bye-election to the Senate, creating another vacancy, which can then be filled by a member of the State Assembly, resulting in yet another vacancy.
To address these challenges, Yakubu appealed to political parties to nominate fresh candidates instead of serving members. This, he believes, will prevent the need for multiple bye-elections. He also expressed his gratitude to political parties for their positive response to previous bye-elections.
He said, “Just three weeks ago, we canvassed this position once again during the defense of our 2025 budget before the joint committee of the Senate and House of Representatives at the National Assembly.
“We appeal to you as leaders of political parties to nominate fresh candidates for this bye-elections, instead of serving members, so that we don’t have to conduct several by elections.
“I want on this note to thank the leaders of political parties. Before we conducted the first set of elections in February last year, there were two vacancies in the Senate and four or five vacancies in the House of Representatives. I’m very happy to say that all the political parties responded positively.
“I wish that we’ll continue in this cooperative spirit, so that we’ll be conducting one bye-election for one constituency rather than three bye-elections for one constituency.”
Furthermore, Yakubu said that INEC has been advocating for a more cost-effective alternative for filling vacancies since 2016.