The major political parties in Edo State have united in their call for a free, transparent, and credible election as voters head to the polls to choose chairmen and councillors in the 18 local government areas of the state. This marks the first local government election in the state in seven years.
Justice James Oyomire (retd.), the Chairman of the Edo State Independent Electoral Commission (EDSIEC), announced that the election will feature contests for 18 chairmen and 192 councillorship seats, with voting taking place across 4,519 polling units throughout the state.
While there are 18 registered political parties in the country, only 11 invited EDSIEC to oversee their primaries, and seven out of those 11 parties submitted candidate forms within the stipulated deadline.
The participating political parties in the election include the Accord Party, African Action Congress, Africa Democratic Congress, Allied Peoples Movement, All Progressives Congress, Labour Party, and the Peoples Democratic Party.
To ensure the security of the election process, the commission has engaged relevant security agencies and has held interactions with the electorate and other stakeholders to ensure a successful exercise.
Regarding the accreditation process, Chairman Oyomire mentioned that it will be manual due to the existing law that only recognizes manual accreditation. He noted that any use of new technology, such as the Biometric Verification and Authentication System (BVAS), would require an amendment to the law.
Ahead of the election, party leaders have expressed their readiness and determination to ensure a level playing ground, calling for a free and fair election. They emphasized the need to avoid past practices of manipulating election results and expressed their ability to adapt to changing dynamics in the electoral process, even in the absence of BVAS.
The political landscape in Edo State is charged with expectations of a credible and transparent election, with all stakeholders, including EDSIEC and political parties, committed to upholding the principles of democracy and fairness.