BY Chinedu Asadu
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has fixed December 5, 2020, for pending bye-elections across the country.
In a statement on Friday, Festus Okoye, INEC spokesman, said the 15 bye-elections would hold across 11 states.
The commission had suspended the elections as a result of the violence that broke out during the #EndSARS protests.
Protests against police brutality under the #EndSARS movement had turned violent, forcing many states — including places the elections are scheduled to hold — to impose curfew.
Okoye said INEC fixed the new date following a series of meetings with various stakeholders including political parties.
He said: “It will be recalled that the Commission met on 22nd October 2020 with Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) to deliberate on the said bye-elections earlier scheduled to hold on October 31, 2020 but postponed on account of the security situation and other environmental challenges in the country.
“The Commission consulted with Political Parties and Civil Society Organizations on Tuesday 10th November 2020 and with the Media and the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) on Wednesday 11th November 2020. Finally, it met with all Resident Electoral Commissioners on Thursday, 12th November 2020.
“Based on these consultations, the Commission believes that security in the affected States has improved while the environmental challenges have reasonably abated. Consequently, the Commission has decided to hold all the pending bye-elections on Saturday December 5, 2020.
“We appeal to voters and stakeholders in the States with pending bye-elections to continue to cooperate with the Commission in its efforts to deliver credible elections under a safe environment.”
WHERE BYE-ELECTIONS WILL HOLD
The bye-elections including those for federal and state legislative seats include: Bayelsa central and west senatorial districts; Cross River north senatorial district; Imo north senatorial district; Lagos east senatorial district and Plateau south senatorial district.
Others are Nganzai and Bayo state constituencies, Borno; Obudu state constituency, Cross River; Kosofe II state constituency, Lagos; Bakura state constituency, Zamfara state; and Ibaji state constituency, Kogi state.
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