This was said by Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, the chairman of INEC, at a special consultative meeting with political party leaders in Abuja.
Yakubu stated that the purpose of the elections was to fill the voids in the state and federal legislatures caused by court orders, resignations, and regrettable deaths.
He revealed that the Commission has been directed by the courts to hold new elections in 34 constituencies—11 federal, 22 state assembly, and one senatorial district—as a result of the general elections held in 2023.
Yakubu clarified that there would be two types of elections. The first involved the Election Petition Appeal Tribunals, which were established following the 2023 General Election and are gradually wrapping up their work. The second involved the commission being mandated by a court order to hold new elections in certain constituencies.
According to him, INEC must also hold byelections to fill positions left vacant by resignations or deaths of members of the National and State Houses of Assembly.
Yakubu clarified that the commission plans to merge and hold the two election categories on the same day, adding that the specifics would be covered during the meeting.
"Re-run elections, as you know, only involve the parties and candidates that ran in the general election, unless a party wants to replace a deceased candidate," the speaker stated.
Bye-elections, however, are new elections. As a result, political parties have to hold new primaries within the legally stipulated time frame.
The Commission has been mandated by the Election Petition Appeal Tribunals to hold new elections in 34 seats, comprising one Senatorial District, 11 Federal seats, and 22 State Assembly constituencies, thus far.
But of the 1,191 petitions filed by litigants, the 34 constituencies make up 2.8 percent. It's noteworthy that the Commission was only instructed to hold polls in every constituency in three of the 34 rerun elections. There will be elections at a few polling places in the remaining 31 constituencies.
"As part of the lessons learned from the 2023 General Election for the consequential reforms to improve the conduct of future elections, I want to assure you that the Commission will present a thorough analysis of the petitions at the conclusion of all litigations, including the Governorship elections that are currently pending on appeal at the Supreme Court. This analysis will include cases where the Commission was ordered to issue Certificates of Return to other candidates and the reasons for the decisions made by the Courts.
"With respect to the bye-elections, you may remember that I recently pledged that the Commission will hold elections to fill vacancies in the National and State Assembly constituencies during my speech at the swearing-in of new Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs), which was combined with our most recent quarterly meeting with the RECs nationwide.
"The Commission plans to hold the bye-elections and rerun in the first week of February 2024, which is just over one month away. Following this consultation meeting, the Commission will convene to assess the state of affairs and declare a firm date, along with the comprehensive timeline and schedule of events for the elections.
"We will submit all delimitation information to our website for public access, including polling places, the amount of PVCs obtained in each constituency, registered voters, and PVC locations.