With the passing of Labour Party candidate Oyibo Chukwu, the Independent National Election Commission postponed the conduct of the senatorial election in Enugu East.
At the INEC media briefing in Abuja on Friday, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, the INEC chairman, made this declaration.
Yakubu stated that the election would now take place on March 11 in conjunction with the governorship elections.
Chukwu and his personal assistant were shot dead by assailants who opened fire on his convoy on Wednesday at Amechi Awkunanaw in Enugu South Local Government Area. He was then set ablaze.
The INEC Chairman claimed that the Labour Party had informed voters of the passing of its candidate and that, in accordance with Section 34 (1) of the Electoral Act, the party had also announced its decision to run a replacement candidate in the election for that constituency.
He said, “The regrettable occurrence involving the Labour Party candidate in Enugu State is the second issue. I can report that the party has now formally notified the Commission of the passing of its candidate for the Enugu East Senatorial District. The party also stated that it will stand in for its deceased candidate in that constituency’s election.
“This request is in accordance with the law’s provision. For the sake of clarity, I’d like to directly cite Section 34(1) of the Election Act of 2022 as follows:
If a nominated candidate passes away after the deadline for delivering nomination papers but before the polls open, the Chief National Electoral Commissioner, satisfied that the death actually occurred, shall countermand the poll in which the deceased candidate was to participate, and the Commission shall set another convenient date for the election within 14 days.
“The Labour Party has presented convincing proof of the passing of their candidate. As a result, the Commission has halted the senatorial district election in accordance with the law.
The INEC Chairman continued, “We have already informed our Enugu State office of this decision. As a result, there won’t be a senatorial election in the Enugu East Senatorial District, which consists of 1,630 voting units and six local government areas.
“The election will now be held simultaneously on March 11, 2023, alongside the state assembly and governor elections.
The Central Bank in the State will continue to hold the materials already given for the senate election until the new election date.
