The bye-election in the Ondo South Senatorial District is scheduled for Saturday, June 20, 2026, and according to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), only four political parties—the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Allied Peoples’ Movement (APM), the Action Peoples Party (APP), and the Boot Party—will be present.
Across the district’s 66 Registration Areas (Wards) and 1,354 Polling Units, 673,446 registered voters are anticipated to take part in the by-election, according to the Commission.
This information was shared during the keynote speech given by Dr. Mutiu Agboke, the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner for Ondo State, during Tuesday’s stakeholders’ meeting in Okitipupa regarding the Ondo South Senatorial District bye-election.
The nomination of Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, a former senator from Ondo South, as the Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the United Nations by President Bola Tinubu, according to Agboke, necessitated the bye-election.
He claims that on April 28, 2026, at plenary, the Senate officially declared the seat vacant and instructed INEC to hold a bye-election in accordance with the provisions of the constitution on legislative vacancies.
Accordingly, the Independent National Electoral Commission has acted quickly to address this legislative gap, as required by both the Electoral Act of 2026 and Section 76 of the Constitution of 1999. As a result, the Ondo South Senatorial District Bye-Election will take place on Saturday, June 20, 2026.
In addition to the governorship election in Ekiti State, the REC announced that bye-elections would also be held in the states of Enugu, Nasarawa, Rivers, and Kano.
The distribution of voters was detailed by Agboke, who 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 went on to say that 5,416 poll officials would be on hand for the exercise, and that in order to vote, one must have a Permanent Voter Card (PVC) and have registered to vote before the current Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) process began. He stressed that the current voter registry would be utilised for the election.
According to Agboke, “the integrity of the accreditation process will be ensured” when the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) is used for voter accreditation at all polling locations.
According to the REC, 1,359 BVAS machines have been received, tested, and are ready for deployment. Additionally, 264 backup devices have been reserved in case any technical issues arise on election day.
He elaborated by saying that INEC’s secure vault in Akure was already housing the sensitive materials.
Concerning preparations for security, Agboke stated that INEC had constituted the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security and was coordinating closely with law enforcement to guarantee a nonviolent procedure.
He made it clear that they would not stand by and watch while violence and impunity unfolded in Ondo South.
Participating political parties and candidates were named by him as follows: Prof. Dayo Faduyilemi of the APC, Adeolu Akinwumi of the APM, Adesanya Olaoluwa of the APP, and Nejo Funso Clement of the Boot Party.
In line with the Electoral Act of 2026, Agboke said that campaigns would begin on June 10 and end on June 18, and he urged all parties, supporters, and stakeholders to behave peacefully all through the election process.