Friday Olokor, Abuja

The Independent National Electoral Commission said it would consult with stakeholders in the electoral process before deciding on a definite date for the conduct of the suspended bye-elections.

The commission also announced that it would consult with political parties and civil society organisations on Tuesday November 10 2020 and the media and Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security on Wednesday November 11 2020.

INEC National Commissioner and Chairman (Information and Voter Education Committee), said these in a statement issued on Thursday night entitled: ‘Update on outstanding bye-elections.’

Recall that following the  #EndSARS nationwide protests, INEC had announced the indefinite postponement of the bye-elections in the six senatorial districts and nine state constituencies.

But Okoye in the statement  said, “The public will recall that the Commission met on October 22 2020 with Resident Electoral Commissioners to deliberate on the 15 outstanding bye-elections in 11 states of the federation earlier scheduled for October 31 2020.

“Due to the security situation in the country at the time, the commission decided to suspend the bye-elections and meet in two weeks to review its decision.

“The commission met on Thursday November 5 2020 to further review the situation and decided that it suffered extensive damage to and vandalization of its local government offices and facilities, including the areas where the bye-elections are scheduled to hold.

“It is important to consult all the critical stakeholders in the electoral process before deciding on a definite date for the conduct of the bye-elections.”

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