INEC To Conduct 28 Rerun Elections In January 2020

INEC To Conduct 28 Rerun Elections In January 2020

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced a date for 28 rerun elections in 12 states.

In a statement by the National Commissioner Information and Voter Education, Festus Okoye, on Thursday, INEC said the rerun polls, which arose from petitions after the 2019 general elections, will be held on January 20 , 2020.

It said 30 court-ordered rerun polls followed the 2019 general elections but two, Ajaokuta Federal Constituency and supplementary elections in Kogi state, had already been conducted.

INEC said it will publish details of court petitions in the 2019 general and rerun elections on its website.

“There are, so far, 30 such court-ordered rerun and supplementary rerun elections. Two of these names, the rerun election for the Ajaokuta Federal Constituency and the supplementary rerun election for the Kogi West Senatorial District were conducted on 30th November 2019,” Mr Okoye said in the statement.

“Consequently. there are 28 court-ordered elections still outstanding which are distributed across 12 States of the Federation. The break down comprises one Senatorial District out of 109. 12 Federal Constituencies out of 360 and 15 State Assembly Constituencies out of 991.”

Read Mr Okoye’s full statement below.

At its 51st regular meeting held today 5th December 2019, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) discussed rerun elections arising from petitions following the 2019 general election.

There are, so far, 30 such court-ordered rerun and supplementary rerun elections. Two of these namely, the rerun election for the Ajaokuta Federal Constituency and the supplementary rerun election for the Kogi West Senatorial District were conducted on 30th November 2019.

Consequently. there are 28 court-ordered elections still outstanding which are distributed across 12 States of the Federation. The break down comprises one Senatorial District out of 109. 12 Federal Constituencies out of 360 and 15 State Assembly Constituencies out of 991.

In many of the cases, elections are to be rerun in only a few polling units. The Commission will make available further details of the affected areas, including the polling units on its website in due course.

After consideration of several issues surrounding the rerun elections, including the time needed for preparations, establishing the full details of the affected areas from court judgments as well as the intervention of the Yuletide, the Commission has decided to hold all the 28 outstanding court-ordered rerun elections on Saturday 25th January 2020. Further details of various activities and timelines will be published later.

It is important to note that arising from the 2019 general election, a -total of 807 post-election petitions were filed at various tribunals. Out of this figure, 582 were dismissed, while 183 were withdrawn by the petitioners. Out of the remaining 42, the tribunals ordered reruns in 30 and issuance of certificates of return in 12 cases.

The Commission wishes to assure Nigerians that it is doing everything within its control to ensure that elections are free, fair and credible. We will continue to ask for the understanding, support and commitment of all stakeholders and agencies involved in elections to achieve this purpose.

Festus Okoye Esq

National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee 5’h December 2019.