• Commission to present certificates of return to by-election winners tomorrow
• Election observers hail INEC, urge aggrieved parties to seek redress

As the end of the tenure of the National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, approaches, pro-democracy groups, comprising the Women’s Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA) and the African Centre for Leadership, Strategy & Development (Centre LSD), have urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to allow an independent panel to select his successor through a transparent, merit-based and competitive process.

The groups gave the advice during the public presentation of three key outputs from its Civic Space, Poverty and Elections (CISPEN) project to ensure trust in INEC ahead of the 2027 general elections.

In a keynote address at the occasion, Dr Hussaini Abdu said that the current process in which the president exercises the power to appoint the INEC chairman is fundamentally flawed.

In her remark, Secretary General of WRAPA, Hajiya Saudatu Mahdi, stressed the urgent need to address Nigeria’s shrinking civic space and its impact on democratic participation.

Also, Executive Director, Centre LSD, Dr Monday Osasah, said that the CISPEN project aims to promote citizens’ participation, accountability, and transparency in governance.

HOWEVER, a coalition of civil society election observers in the by-election in Kano State, which include Women Fest for Better Life Living Initiatives, Centre for Grassroots Development and Crime Prevention, among others, has challenged political parties dissatisfied with the conduct and outcome of the polls to seek redress in the competent court of law.

The accredited observers also applauded the INEC for conducting credible elections in Bagwai/Shanono and Ghari/Tsanyawa state constituencies. Convener and Leader of Society Rights Project, Zubaur Ladan, who spoke, yesterday, in Kano, said that the election was held under a peaceful atmosphere.

MEANWHILE, INEC has disclosed that Certificates of Return will be presented to winners of the just-concluded by-elections across the country tomorrow, August 21, 2025.

National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, who disclosed this in a statement yesterday, said the decision was in compliance with the provision of Section 72(1) of the Electoral Act 2022.

He said that the presentation for senators-elect and members of the House of Representatives-elect will take place at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja at 3:00 p.m.

Olumekun also said that for state Houses of Assembly, certificates of return would be presented by the respective Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) on Friday, August 22, 2025, at 11:00 a.m.

He further noted that re-run elections by order of the election petition appeal tribunals were held in Enugu and Kano states, adding that after previous disruptions of the elections in the two states by violence and thuggery, the elections have now been concluded.

Olumekun said while results have been declared in most constituencies, the election in Kaura Namoda South Constituency of Zamfara State was declared inconclusive due to violence in five polling units.