What’s a run-off election and the way is it performed?

To win a presidential (or governorship) election in Nigeria, a candidate should meet two constitutional necessities.

Part 134 (2) of the structure stipulates {that a} candidate is required to safe nearly all of votes, in addition to 25% of the votes solid in two-thirds of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Two-thirds on this case means a candidate should win not less than 25% of votes solid in 24 states. With out hitting this mark, a candidate can’t be declared a winner even when he/she meets the second situation — profitable nearly all of votes.

So, if no candidate meets the 2 necessities as stipulated within the structure, a second election can be performed. This second ballot known as a run-off election.

A run-off election helps to find out a winner when no candidate within the first election meets the 2 important situations for victory.

The legislation requires the Unbiased Nationwide Electoral Fee (INEC) to conduct a run-off election inside 21 days after the primary election.

Not all of the candidates who participated within the first election are eligible for the second spherical of voting.

For example, if the 2023 presidential election advances to a run-off, solely two out of the 18 candidates would make it to the second spherical.

The 2 candidates are:

Nevertheless, if there are a couple of candidate with a majority of votes within the highest variety of states, the candidate with the very best variety of votes might be picked for a run-off.

This means {that a} candidate who scored the second-highest variety of votes within the first spherical may not qualify for a second election as a result of the criterion for the second candidate for a run-off is concerning the majority of votes within the highest variety of states.

In contrast to the primary spherical, a run-off election is set by a easy majority — any candidate who secures the very best variety of votes wins the election.

INEC has already introduced its readiness to conduct a run-off election if there’s no clear winner after the February 25 presidential election.

The Nationwide Commissioner and Chairman, Data and Voter Training Committee, Festus Okoye on Tuesday, January 31, 2023, stated INEC has printed 93.5 million additional poll papers for a attainable run-off election.

He additionally promised that the election can be performed strictly consistent with Part 134 of the Structure of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Okoye stated, “We’re comfy with the extent of our preparations and because the chairman of the fee has assured the nation, by no means once more will scheduled elections be postponed or rescheduled on account of logistics and logistics challenges.

“If, for instance, we’re printing 93 million poll papers for the primary presidential election, we can even print 93 million for the run-off election — in case there isn’t a clear winner within the first election”.

So, if the forthcoming presidential election requires a run-off for a winner to emerge, INEC is anticipated to conduct a run-off election that may produce Nigeria’s subsequent president.