The Ondo State Independent Electoral Commission (ODIEC) has once again postponed the local government elections, rescheduling them to January 18, 2025.
Dr. Joseph Aremo, the Chairman of ODIEC, made this announcement during a stakeholders’ meeting held on Thursday at the commission’s headquarters in Akure, the state capital.
Originally scheduled for December 16, 2023, the election had been postponed first to February 17, then to July 13, and subsequently indefinitely before this new date was set.
Dr. Aremo clarified that the election had not been canceled but rather rescheduled due to political parties’ failure to adhere to electoral guidelines and processes.
He reassured the public that the commission is fully prepared to conduct a transparent, free, and fair election. He also encouraged political parties that had already held primaries to submit their validated candidate lists to the commission.
The timeline for the election process is as follows:
- Political party primaries and candidate validation will occur from November 25 to December 7.
- The deadline for submitting candidate forms and lists is December 9.
- Candidate substitutions by political parties will be from December 12 to December 13.
- Collection and submission of nomination forms will be from December 16 to December 18.
- Campaigns will commence on December 23 and conclude by midnight on January 16, 2025.
Additionally, the distribution of non-sensitive materials to the 18 local governments is scheduled from January 6 to January 10, 2025.
Mr. Olaoluwa Adesanya, the State Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), expressed his approval of the ODIEC Chairman’s presentation regarding the commission’s preparedness for the elections. He assured both the commission and residents of IPAC’s commitment to participating in the electoral process.