The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has cleared nine political parties to contest the August 16 by-elections for the Edo Central Senatorial District and Ovia Federal Constituency seats in Edo State.
The vacancies arose after, Gov. Monday Okpebholo and Deputy, Dennis Idahosa, who previously occupied the Senate and House of Representatives seats respectively, were elected as governor and deputy governor in the September 2024 governorship election.
Addressing journalists in Benin City on Wednesday, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Edo State, Prof. Anugbum Onuoha, listed the cleared parties as: Action Alliance (AA), African Democratic Congress (ADC), All Progressives Congress (APC), Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Democratic Party (ADP), New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
Onuoha explained that although 14 parties initially signaled interest in the election, only nine successfully held primaries and invited INEC to observe the process.
He assured that the Commission is fully prepared for a transparent and credible poll, noting that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) has been configured, while non-sensitive materials have already been deployed.
Expressing concern over the large number of uncollected Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), the REC revealed that 101,617 PVCs remain unclaimed out of 719,504 registered voters across the seven local government areas involved in the by-elections.
He urged eligible voters to collect their cards ahead of the poll.
Responding to a recent call by the PDP for his redeployment, Onuoha dismissed the demand and called for media cooperation to support INEC’s commitment to conducting a free, fair, and credible election.
