From mercy Peter
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it has concluded arrangements for Saturday’s bye-elections in 16 constituencies across 12 states.
The commission also outlined plans for the resumption of nationwide Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) and the publication of candidates’ particulars for the 2026 Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council election.
In a statement issued after its weekly meeting on Thursday, INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, mni, confirmed that the bye-elections—caused by the resignation or death of serving lawmakers—will take place in two senatorial districts in Anambra and Edo States; five federal constituencies in Edo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Ogun, and Oyo States; and nine state constituencies spread across Adamawa, Anambra, Kaduna (2), Kano, Kogi, Niger, Taraba, and Zamfara States.
Court-ordered rerun elections in Enugu South 1 State Constituency of Anambra State and Ghari/Tsanyawa State Constituency of Kano State will also hold on the same day.
Olumekun disclosed that all non-sensitive materials had been delivered to the states, the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) had been configured, and ad hoc staff recruitment and training, as well as logistics and security arrangements, were complete.
The final batch of sensitive election materials, he said, would be delivered later on Thursday.
He reminded political parties and candidates that campaigns must end by midnight on Thursday, warning all stakeholders including voters, party agents, observers, and the media to comply strictly with electoral laws, guidelines, and regulations to ensure smooth polls.
INEC will resume the Continuous Voter Registration exercise on Monday, August 18, starting with online pre-registration. Physical registration will commence a week later, on August 25, at 811 INEC offices nationwide.
The list and locations of registration centres, along with helpline numbers, will be available on the Commission’s website, while an interactive CVR Locator tool will go live on Sunday, August 17.
The exercise will allow eligible Nigerians to register, transfer their voting location, or replace damaged or lost Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs). Olumekun stressed that the process is strictly for citizens aged 18 and above who have never registered before, warning that double or multiple registrations are punishable offences.
FCT Area Council Election Candidate Details to be Published
For the 2026 FCT Area Council elections, INEC announced that 17 political parties submitted nomination forms for 637 candidates contesting 68 positions comprising six chairmanship and 62 councillorship seats before the August 11 deadline.
In line with Section 29(3) of the Electoral Act 2022, the Commission will publish the personal particulars and credentials of all candidates in its offices across the six FCT Area Councils from Monday, August 18.
INEC urged citizens to scrutinise the documents and, where necessary, challenge any false information through the courts.
The final list of candidates will be released on September 22, 2025 150 days before the February 21, 2026 election date consistent with the Electoral Act and the Commission’s election timetable.
INEC assured Nigerians of transparent, credible, and inclusive processes, pledging to keep the public informed on all developments.
