The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has refuted a report claiming it would hold supplementary elections alongside the governorship and state house of assembly elections on Saturday. In a statement signed on Friday by National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, the commission clarified that the date for any supplementary elections has not yet been set.
Okoye explained that the two National Assembly elections in Enugu and Edo, which were previously suspended and later rescheduled, will indeed take place together with the governorship and state assembly elections. He emphasized that the report suggesting supplementary elections arising from the presidential and National Assembly contests would be held on 18 March 2023 is incorrect. INEC has not scheduled such supplementary polls; instead, they will occur on a date to be announced after the governorship and state assembly elections.
The statement distinguished these upcoming votes from the two postponed National Assembly elections. The first is the Enugu East Senatorial District election, which was countermanded to allow the Labour Party to conduct a fresh primary after the death of its candidate, in accordance with Section 34(1) of the Electoral Act 2022. The second is the Esan Central/Esan West/Igueben Federal Constituency election in Edo State, which was delayed due to ballot‑paper issues. Both are main elections that could not be held earlier, not supplementary elections.
The public is advised to disregard any reports suggesting that supplementary elections will be conducted alongside the governorship and state assembly elections on Saturday, 18 March 2023.
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