The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has started the distribution of sensitive election materials ahead of the Rivers South-East Senatorial District by-election scheduled for Saturday, June 20, 2026.
The exercise is part of final preparations for the poll to fill the vacant senatorial seat in Rivers State.
National and state officials of INEC were present at the Central Bank of Nigeria office in Port Harcourt on Thursday to supervise the distribution process.
The commission said the exercise is being carried out to ensure smooth and credible conduct of the upcoming election.
The by-election became necessary following the death of Senator Barinada Mpigi in February 2026, which left the seat vacant.
Voting would take place across seven Local Government Areas in the district.
The affected LGAs include Khana, Gokana, Tai, Eleme, Andoni, Opobo/Nkoro, and Oyigbo.
INEC stated that four political parties have been cleared to participate in the election.
The parties are the Action Alliance (AA), All Progressives Congress (APC), Labour Party (LP), and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
A total of 858,573 registered voters are expected to participate in the exercise.
Voting will be conducted across 1,629 polling units in 88 electoral wards.
INEC has also deployed 6,774 ad hoc staff to manage the electoral process.
The commission confirmed that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) would be used for voter accreditation and verification.
