Ahead of the July 13, 2024 Local Government Elections in Ondo State, the state’s Independent Electoral Commission (ODIEC) has indefinitely postponed the elections for the 18 Local Governments and 33 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) in the state.
The Chairman of ODIEC, Dr. Joseph Aremo, during a stakeholders’ meeting held yesterday in Akure, the state capital announced the indefinite suspense.
He disclosed that this became necessary due to the non-compliance of political parties with the electoral process.
Dr. Aremo said, “The political parties did not submit their nomination forms and did not comply with the adjusted timetable from the last meeting.
“As a precursor to the conduct of the election, between June 26 and 28, 2024, parties were expected to submit the lists of their agents.
“In the last meeting with the leaders of IPAC, the commission informed them that the July 13 date set for the election was sacrosanct. We also stated that we would not be changing it.
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“The commission explained that even if only two parties were ready for the election, the poll would still be conducted.
“At the meeting, they all agreed to comply with the guidelines and timetable. However, as I speak, not a single party has complied. No valid nomination form was submitted.
“It is incumbent upon us to review the entire process and decide on the next steps.
“Our concern is to conduct free and fair elections at the grassroots level, leading to the emergence of local leadership.
“But we realized that there was non-compliance with the rules and regulations. This led us to the decision to postpone the election,” he stated.
Commenting on the matter, the State Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Olaoluwa Adesanya, said the decision of the council members not to participate in the election was reached during a meeting.
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“We agreed among ourselves that no political parties should submit nomination forms because we want to meet with the Governor to understand what is happening in the government.
“We knew that the commission would have nothing to work with without the submission of nomination forms.
“Though we are an advisory body, we are not opposed to the Governor, as we are part of his government. We have trust in ODIEC to perform effectively.
“ODIEC is an independent body, and in this aspect, it is a matter between the Governor and the political parties,” he concluded.
