INEC To Conduct Re-run Elections In April

The Independent Na
tional Electoral Commission (INEC) says re run elections would be conducted in the first quarter of this year as ordered by the Appeal Court across the country.
INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu who stated this during a consultative meeting with 30 representatives of political parties in Abuja last week, said the 82 Appeal Court-ordered elections will be conducted by INEC in the first quarter of this year.
The Tide learnt that newly registered voters in the 82 districts and constituencies where bye elections are scheduled for this quarter will have to wait till 2019 or whenever there is a vacancy by reason of death.
It was gathered that the decision to bar newly registered voters from the rerun poll was taken by the management to prevent rigging and litigations after poll re-run.
Sources at the INEC in Rivers State revealed that only registered voters for the last general election will be allowed to vote.
“Those who have benefited from our Continuous Voters Registration exercise after the last general election will not take part.They will wait till 2019 general elections,” the source said.
Yakubu revealed to political parties during the meeting that the commission took the decision to prevent rigging or recourse to inducement of eligible voters to register.
According to him,’’We also do not want any distortion in the electoral process. This is a far- reaching measure to avoid litigations’’.
“Any candidate or politician mobilising his or her supporters to register for poll re-run is joking.”
‘’The  82 Appeal Court-ordered elections will be conducted by INEC in the first quarter of this year.