Politics
INEC Releases Final List Of Candidates For Edo State Guber Election
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has officially released the final list of candidates for the Edo State Governorship election.
According to a statement by INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, 17 political parties will participate in the election. Of these, 16 candidates are male, while one is female.
This announcement comes after the candidates’ personal details and those of their running mates were published in both the commission and local government offices across the state.
The statement reads: “In line with the provision of Section 33 of the Electoral Act 2022, some political parties conducted fresh primaries to replace their earlier nominated candidates by the deadline of 15th April 2024. The Action Alliance (AA) and African Democratic Congress (ADC) replaced their Governorship candidates and their running mates. In addition, the African Action Congress (AAC), All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Boot Party (BP) and New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) replaced the running mates of their candidates only.
“Overall, seventeen (17) political parties are fielding candidates in the election. Sixteen (16) are male, while one (1) is female. The final list, which also gives the breakdown of the candidates by age, academic qualifications and disability, has been published at our office in Edo State and also uploaded to our website and social media platforms for public information.”
Upon releasing the final list of candidates, INEC announced that the next step in the electoral process is the commencement of electioneering campaigns.
According to Section 94(1) of the Electoral Act 2022, political parties are allowed to publicly campaign starting 150 days before the polling day and concluding 24 hours before that day.
In line with the timetable and schedule of activities for the election, INEC has specified that political parties can begin their public campaigns on April 24th, 2024, and must conclude them by midnight on September 19th, 2024.
The commission has emphasized the importance of candidates, agents, and their supporters adhering to the provisions of the law and the commission’s guidelines that govern such campaign activities.
The electoral body said: “For emphasis, parties shall conduct their campaigns with civility and decorum devoid of inciting language, violence, voter inducement and other infractions mentioned in Sections 92 – 97 of the Electoral Act 2022”.
Nation Post reports that the Edo State Governorship Election is scheduled to be held on Saturday, September 21, 2024.
