Battle for Edo heats up: Nine parties cleared for high-stakes by-election

By Jethro Ibileke

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has approved nine political parties to participate in the forthcoming by-election scheduled for August 16, 2025, in Edo State.

The poll will fill the vacant Edo Central Senatorial and Ovia Federal Constituency seats, following the emergence of Senator Monday Okpebholo and Hon. Dennis Idahosa as Governor and Deputy Governor in the September 2024 governorship election.

Speaking during a press briefing in Benin City on Wednesday, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Edo State, Professor Anugbum Onuoha, said the nine cleared parties had complied with INEC guidelines by inviting the Commission to monitor their primaries.

The participating parties are: 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 noted that although 14 parties initially expressed interest in the by-election, only nine fulfilled the requirement of notifying INEC of their primaries.

He disclosed that some parties failed to open their venues for inspection, while others held primaries without informing the Commission.

He assured that INEC is fully prepared to conduct a credible and transparent election, revealing that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) has already been configured and non-sensitive materials deployed.

However, he expressed concern over the high number of uncollected Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), stating that 101,617 out of 719,504 registered voters in the affected seven local government areas are yet to collect their cards.

Responding to calls by the PDP for his redeployment, the REC dismissed the allegations and urged the media to support the Commission’s efforts to deliver a free and fair election.

“INEC’s structure makes it nearly impossible for any official to compromise the process. Even if you bring your brother, he won’t be able to manipulate the system,” he stated.