The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has scheduled a supplementary election in Taraba and a fresh re-run election in Enugu State on February 14th. This decision was communicated in a statement by Sam Olumekun, National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, on Tuesday in Abuja.
The Commission reached this decision during its regular Tuesday meeting, which discussed various issues, including the outcomes of the Saturday re-run and by-election. The by-election aimed to fill vacant seats in nine constituencies resulting from the demise or resignation of members elected during the 2023 general election at the National and State Houses of Assembly. Additionally, the re-run election encompassed 39 constituencies as mandated by the Election Petition Appeal Tribunals.
Olumekun reported that the by-election concluded successfully in all designated constituencies except for the Jalingo/Yorro/Zing Federal Constituency. The final declaration of the election was postponed due to instances of over-voting in certain polling units, impacting the margin of lead between the candidates with the highest number of votes. Details of the affected polling units will be published on Wednesday.
Regarding the re-run election, disruptions occurred at two polling units in the Ikono/Ini Federal Constituency of Akwa Ibom State and across all polling units in the Enugu South State Constituency of Enugu State and Kunchi/Tsanyawa State Constituency of Kano State. These disruptions were attributed to violence, thuggery, and the hijacking of election materials.
The Commission had earlier suspended the re-run election in these areas in accordance with Section 24(3) of the Electoral Act 20 of 22. Following additional reports from officials in the affected states, the Commission supports the Returning Officer’s decision to announce results in the Ikono/Ini Federal Constituency, as the number of registered voters in the two polling units did not affect the election’s outcome.
The Commission has now resolved to conduct a supplementary election in Taraba and a new re-run election in Enugu State on Wednesday, February 14th. However, due to security concerns, the election in the Kunchi/Tsanyawa State Constituency will be held later after further discussions with security agencies and stakeholders, as stated by Olumekun.
