A general election may be the most significant logistical undertaking in peacetime. However, conducting one is not as demanding, cumbersome, violenceprone, or challenging as by-elections and court-ordered re-run elections.
This is because by-elections concentrate political desperation in smaller constituencies, making them easier targets for manipulation, vote-buying, and violence — all of which undermine democratic legitimacy more directly than nationwide elections.
Some of these elections occur after a President has been elected and sworn in, with governors and members of the National and State Assemblies already affiliated with political parties. A by-election or re-run might then take place in a state controlled by either the President’s party or the opposition.
The stakes are high, especially when a general election is on the horizon. Parties often regard such elections as a test of their popularity or as rehearsals for the main election. This test-run mentality turns by-elections into minibattlegrounds.
Because the incumbents are not on the ballot, political officeholders therefore have the time, resources, and energy to focus on them and deploy disproportionate resources, often distorting the will of the people and damaging citizens’ trust in democracy.
Campaign Coordinating Committees—comprising governors, lawmakers, and other influential figures—are typically established to direct efforts across senatorial, federal, and state assembly seats. These dynamics often lead to tension, fear, and anxiety about the outcomes.
As a result, scheduling such elections depends not only on the financial capacity of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) but also on the preparedness of security agencies and the readiness of political parties. The fact that a single by-election can destabilise security in an entire state underscores the fragility of our democracy under such circumstances.
The security situation in the state or local government area remains a decisive factor. This background is crucial to understanding the recent by-elections and court-ordered re-runs conducted by INEC on August 16, 2025. The byelections sought to fill vacancies in two senatorial districts—Anambra South and Edo Central—five federal constituencies, and nine state assembly seats.
The vacancies arose from deaths, resignations, and legal disputes. INEC informed stakeholders that 3,553,659 registered voters across 32 local government areas, 356 wards, and 6,987 polling units were eligible to participate. To manage the process, 30,451 officials were deployed.
Despite declared vacancies, elections were not held in two constituencies: Khana II in Rivers State, due to a state of emergency, and Talata Mafara South in Zamfara State, where legal disputes remain unresolved. Additionally, two outstanding court-ordered re-runs—Enugu South I in Enugu State and Ghari/Tsanyawa in Kano State—disrupted earlier by violence, were scheduled to hold concurrently with the by-elections.
Some of these elections had been pending for months. On February 6, 2024, the National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, released an update on by-elections and re-runs nationwide.
He reported that byelections were held in nine constituencies to replace members who died or resigned after the 2023 general elections. Re-runs also took place in 39 constituencies on the orders of Election Petition Appeal Tribunals.
While most elections concluded successfully, the declaration for Jalingo/Yorro/Zing Federal Constituency was postponed due to over voting in certain polling units, which affected the margin of lead. He stated that disruptions occurred at two polling units in the Ikono/Ini Federal Constituency of Akwa Ibom State, as well as across all polling units in the Enugu South State Constituency of Enugu State and the Kunchi/Tsanyawa State Constituency of Kano State,
Ironically, some of those who loudly condemn electoral malpractices today once benefited from and condoned the same practices when in power
due to violence, thuggery, and the hijacking of election materials. On this basis and due to security concerns, the election in Kunchi/Tsanyawa State Constituency was postponed pending further discussions with security agencies and stakeholders.
Reports of vote-buying, thuggery, and manipulation during the by-elections and court-ordered re-run elections have heightened public concern about the 2027 general election. When these practices are more prevalent in byelections than in general elections, they normalise electoral malpractice and set dangerous precedents that threaten the credibility of future polls.
Many Nigerians fear that desperation for power may push political actors towards stockpiling arms, training thugs, amassing funds for vote-buying, obstructing INEC deployment in opposition strongholds, bribing or intimidating election officials, and rendering citizens’ votes meaningless. These are genuine fears that have long accompanied Nigeria’s competitive politics.
However, blaming everything on INEC is misguided. The responsibility for electoral malpractices lies squarely with political parties, candidates, security agencies, and, to some extent, the electoral management body. Free, fair, and transparent elections require collective effort.
Election duty staff, many of them young Nigerians, must not be exposed to violence or death in the line of duty. Since INEC has no security arm of its own, it relies entirely on security agencies to secure polling environments, whether in forests, mountains, or riverine areas.
These agencies must ensure the safety of personnel and materials and prevent political thugs from disrupting the process. Political parties and candidates must also commit to playing by the rules— rules set out in the Constitution, the Electoral Act, and INEC’s guidelines. Sadly, many do not.
They allocate vast sums to so-called “logistics,” which often serve as funds for thugs, votebuying, and corruption of vulnerable election duty staff. Ironically, some of those who loudly condemn electoral malpractices today once
Nigeria must confront these realities honestly before the 2027 general elections. The preparatory phase should focus on organisation, security, and credibility. A proper “dress rehearsal” means training election security personnel to act with professionalism and integrity while safeguarding officials and materials from harassment or manipulation.
It also requires adequately funding INEC to enable strategic planning, while political parties must strengthen internal democracy, conduct credible primaries, and campaign responsibly.
What Nigeria must avoid is a rehearsal that undermines law and order, deepens youth involvement in drug abuse and criminality, or diverts resources into “logistics war chests” for votebuying instead of improving citizens’ welfare. Nigerians have remained loyal to the democratic process. The political elite should reciprocate by guaranteeing citizens the right to vote in a peaceful environment.
As posited by Hon. Justice Anthony Aniagolu: “The essence of democratic elections is that they be free and fair and that in that atmosphere of freedom, fairness and impartiality, citizens will exercise their freedom of choice of who their representatives shall be by casting their votes in favour of those candidates who, in their deliberate judgment, they consider possesses the qualities which mark them out as preferable candidates to those others who are contesting with them.
“The voters must be allowed to freely go to the polling booths and cast their votes unmolested. Free and fair elections cannot, therefore, tolerate thuggery or violence of any kind; corrupt practice, impersonation, threatening, undue influence, intimidation, disorderly conduct, and any acts which may have the effect of impeding the free exercise by the voter of his franchise.”
Anything less would betray democracy. We cannot afford an exodus before the 2027 general election. We must prevent a situation where parents and relatives share and ship their children and loved ones to neighbouring countries.
In these countries, some will become refugees and second-class citizens. We cannot allow Nigerians to flee to the camp for internally displaced persons, where young people will live in misery and dependence. We cannot accept the fear and anxiety caused by uncertainty.
Our elections should celebrate democracy, not trigger fear and anxiety. If by-elections continue to descend into scenes of violence and corruption, they will weaken democracy’s foundation, not strengthen it. We can redesign our electoral process, and there is an opportunity to do so.
