INEC Laments Cost of By-Elections, Seeks Alternatives

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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has expressed concern over the high cost of by-elections and called for the amendment of the law to explore more cost-effective alternatives for filling vacancies in the national and state assemblies.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, made this call during a consultative meeting with political parties in Abuja on Wednesday. He urged stakeholders to advocate for changes to the law, highlighting that many countries have adopted alternative methods that are more efficient and less costly.

Yakubu pointed out that since the inauguration of the current national and state assemblies in June 2023, vacancies had arisen in 23 constituencies due to deaths, voluntary resignations, or appointments to executive positions at federal, state, and local government levels. He noted that while the commission had conducted nine by-elections earlier last year, 14 more vacancies had emerged since then.

“These vacancies are unpredictable, unbudgeted for, and difficult to plan for in advance,” Yakubu said, adding that some by-elections lead to further vacancies, creating a domino effect that results in multiple by-elections.

He cited an example where a by-election in one senatorial district led to another vacancy in the House of Representatives, and then another in the state assembly, illustrating how one by-election can trigger several others. Yakubu emphasised that these repeated by-elections are not only costly but also divert the commission’s attention from other critical electoral responsibilities.

“There are situations where a by-election in one senatorial district was won by a serving member of the house of representatives from the same district, thereby creating another vacancy.

“In turn, a member of the state assembly won the by-election to the house of representatives and this led to another vacancy in the state assembly.

“Consequently, one by-election led to three by-elections.

“Not only are these by-elections costly, they also divert the commission’s attention from its other extensive electoral responsibilities,’’ he said

He reiterated the need for legal reforms to address these challenges and reduce the financial burden on INEC and the country.