The scheduled September 2 Edo State Local Government elections seem to have defied all postponement proof,and is finally here. The elections have been shifted several times by the Edo State Independent Electoral Commission (EDSIEC),a body charged with the conduct of local government elections in Edo State.
The last local government elections were held in March 2018,where the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) then,won the eighteen local government councils.The tenure of the council chairmen ended in 2021 and since then, EDSIEC has told stories why the council elections would not hold each time it was postponed.
EDSIEC has scheduled the local government elections for April 19, 2022 after a year expiration of the tenure of the elected chairmen ,and at which time Heads of Local Government Administration(HOLGA) supervised the affairs of the council areas. But in a twist,
four members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state took the Commission to
the Federal High Court, Abuja and on the 5th of April,2022,the court barred the Edo State Independent Electoral Commission(EDSIEC) from conducting the local government polls pending the hearing and determination of Motion on Notice.
On vacation of the Motion by the Abuja High Court, the Edo State Electoral Commission fixed the date for the council elections for May 6,2023. But that was not to be as the Commission few days to the elections, announced that for some reasons best known to it,the council polls was to be shifted to Saturday September 2,2023.
Briefing the press on Tuesday, August,30th,the Chairman of the Commission,Justice James Oyomire (rtd) said,all is ready for the much anticipated elections.
He announced that seven political parties will be vying for 18 council chairmen and 192 councillors positions in the local government polls that will take place in 4519 polling units across the state.
Justice Oyomire (rtd),also stated that the arrangement has been finalized to ensure the deployment or movement of electoral materials to the polling units.
According to him.”Among the 18 registered parties in the country ,only 11 invited EDSIEC to capture their primaries and forms were given to them with only seven parties submitting forms before deadline.
“The parties that will be participating are:
Accord Party, (AP);African Action Congress(AAC) ;Africa Democratic Congress,(ADC); Allied Peoples Movement(APM); All Progressives Congress, (APC);Labour Party;(LP)and Peoples Democratic Party,(PDP)
“The Commission has embarked on a tour of the local government areas to interact and sensitize the people and other relevant stakeholders who are key to the success of the election.
“Seven political partieswho submitted their forms will take part in this election. The election will take place in 4519 polling units in 192 wards in the state. 18 local government chairmen and 192 councillors seats will be contested for across the state.
“In order to ensure adequate security, before, during and after the election, the commission engaged relevant security agencies in the state, while we interacted with the electorate and other stakeholders to ensure the success of the exercise.
“The commission is ready. Adequate training has been given to election officers and personnel, while logistic arrangement are in place for the deployment of election materials to polling units,” he added.
The local government election is seen by political analysts as key,ahead of the 2024 Governorship Election next year.
One: the local government council chairmen and their councillors are the closest to the voting populace and whoever controls the local government areas is seen as the person who controls the state.
Two: major political parties see the local government elections as a test for their popularity, after the 2023 general election,which outcome jolted the ruling People Democratic Party(PDP) and the main opposition All Progressive Congress (APC). The PDP has not faired so badly in the state since 1999,as Edo is considered a PDP state, even when it was ruled by the opposition.
For example,the party lost all three senatorial zones. One to Labour Party and two to the opposition All Progressive Congress. It also struggled to win one seat out of the nine House of Representatives seats, even when the party is the ruling party in the state.
Three: the Governor,Mr Godwin Obaseki,who would be finishing his second term in office in November,2024 would want to assert his position in order to be able to produce his successor in the next year governorship polls.
On the other hand, this could as well be seen as paper analysis,as the history of local government elections in Nigeria shows that ruling parties in the state have always won the elections, leaving no single seat for the opposition parties,this has prompted agitations that the Independent National Electoral Commission be allowed to conduct local government elections.
This ugly phenomenon has made people lose interest in contesting or participating in local government elections. As most believe governors would write results even before the elections are conducted.
