Barely 12 hours to the upcoming bye-elections slated for Saturday 16th August, 2025, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has included the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the elections schedules.
TThis development comes after a Federal High Court judgment, in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1525/2025, mandated INEC to recognize the party’s participation.
Announcing this in a statement by Sam Olumekun mni, National Commissioner and Chairman, Information & Voter Education Committee on Friday 15th August 2025, INEC said SDP was initially excluded from the elections due to its failure to submit a valid notice for conducting primaries, which prevented INEC from monitoring the process.
However, INEC has now accepted and published the names of SDP candidates on its website.
Despite the last-minute court ruling, INEC assured voters that the elections will proceed as planned. as the commission has completed arrangements for the by-elections and has urged all stakeholders to adhere to the provisions of the law, regulations, and guidelines.
Spark News Naija reports that the bye-elections will be held in 16 Constituencies across 12 States of the federation.