The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has fixed Saturday, September 19, 2026, for the conduct of five by-elections across Gombe, Bauchi, Delta and Kano states.
The elections will fill one vacant seat in the House of Representatives and four vacant seats in state Houses of Assembly, with polling scheduled for the Gombe/Kwami/Funakaye Federal Constituency, two constituencies in Bauchi, and one each in Delta and Kano.
The Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Tunde Oketola, disclosed the development in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Tuesday in Abuja.
According to Oketola, the federal constituency election will hold in Gombe/Kwami/Funakaye Federal Constituency of Gombe State.
The four state constituency elections will be conducted in Disina and Sakwa constituencies in Bauchi State, Udu State Constituency in Delta State, and Dawakin Kudu State Constituency in Kano State.
INEC announced September 19 as the date for the legislative bye-elections, which are being organized to fill vacancies that arose in the affected constituencies. The commission has since listed the five elections on its official schedule of upcoming elections.
Also Read: INEC deepens tech use with ‘real-time readiness tracker’
In Gombe, the Gombe/Kwami/Funakaye Federal Constituency seat became vacant following the death of Yaya Bauchi Tongo, who represented the constituency in the House of Representatives.
The September 19 polls will come as political parties prepare for the 2027 general elections, for which INEC has already released the broad electoral timetable.
The presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for January 16, 2027, while governorship and State House of Assembly elections are scheduled for February 6, 2027.
INEC has also begun preparations for the September bye-elections, including the electronic upload of polling agents by participating political parties. The commission said the dedicated portal for the exercise will close at midnight on Thursday, September 10.
The commission has repeatedly stated that the bye-elections are part of its constitutional responsibility to fill legislative vacancies and ensure that affected constituencies have elected representatives.
With the five contests taking place across four states, attention is expected to focus on the participation of political parties, voter turnout, election-day security and the conduct of the polls as INEC works towards the larger 2027 electoral cycle.
NAN
