The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has disclosed that only four political parties, comprising the All Progressives Congress, APC, Allied Peoples’ Movement, APM, Action Peoples Party, APP and Boot Party, will participate in the bye-election in Ondo South Senatorial District, which takes place on Saturday, June 20, 2026.
The Commission also revealed that a total of 673,446 registered voters are expected to participate in the by-election across the 1,354 Polling Units and 66 Registration Areas (Wards) in the district.
This disclosure was contained in the keynote address delivered by the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner for Ondo State, Dr Mutiu Agboke, at the stakeholders’ meeting on the conduct of the Ondo South Senatorial District bye-election held on Tuesday in Okitipupa.
Agboke said the bye-election became necessary following the appointment of former Ondo South Senator, Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, as Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations by President Bola Tinubu.
According to him, “the Senate formally declared the seat vacant on April 28, 2026, during plenary and directed INEC to conduct a bye-election in line with constitutional provisions governing legislative vacancies.
“To this end and in compliance with its constitutional mandate under Section 76 of the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act 2026, the Independent National Electoral Commission has swiftly moved to fill this legislative vacuum. Hence, the Commission has fixed Saturday, 20th June, 2026 the date for the Ondo South Senatorial District Bye-Election.”
The REC noted that the election would be conducted alongside other bye-elections in Enugu, Nasarawa, Rivers and Kano States, as well as the Ekiti State governorship election.
Providing details of voter distribution, Agboke said, “Odigbo Local Government Area has the highest number of registered voters with 154,382, followed by Ilaje with 147,209, while Ese-Odo has 84,888 voters.”
He added that a total of 5,416 poll officials would be deployed for the exercise and stated that only voters who registered before the commencement of the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration, CVR, exercise and possess valid Permanent Voter Cards, PVCs, would be eligible to vote, stressing that the existing voter register would be used for the election.
“The Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, will be deployed for voter accreditation at all polling units, ensuring the integrity of the accreditation process,” Agboke said.
The REC disclosed that 1,359 BVAS machines had been received, tested and certified for deployment, while an additional 264 backup devices had been set aside to address possible technical challenges on election day.
He added that sensitive materials were already being stored in INEC’s secure vault in Akure.
On security arrangements, Agboke said INEC had activated the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security and was working closely with security agencies to ensure a peaceful process.
“We shall not allow Ondo South to be a theatre of violence and impunity,” he stated.
He identified the participating political parties and candidates as APC’s Prof. Dayo Faduyilemi, APM’s Adeolu Akinwumi, APP’s Adesanya Olaoluwa and Boot Party’s Nejo Funso Clement.
Agboke added that campaigns would run from June 10 to June 18 in accordance with the Electoral Act 2026 and urged parties, supporters and stakeholders to conduct themselves peacefully before, during and after the election.
