The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Wednesday published the names of nine political parties that would be participating in the August 16, 2025, by-elections for the Edo Central Senatorial and Ovia Federal Constituency seats in Edo State with the Labour Party (LP) conspicuously missing.
INEC said Labour Party, among others, was excluded from participation because it was not invited to monitor its primary election.
Newsmata.com.ng reports that the seats being contested became vacant after the previous representatives, Senator Monday Okpebholo and Dennis Idahosa resigned following their emergence as governor and deputy governor of the state after the September 21, 2024, governorship election.
The Edo State Resident Electoral Commissioner of INEC, Prof. Anugbum Onuoha, at a press conference listed the participating political parties as: Action Alliance (AA), African Democratic Congress (ADC) and All Progressives Congress (APC).
Others are: 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).
Prof Onuoha stated that 14 political parties had indicated interest to contest the poll, but only the affirmed nine parties invited INEC to monitor their primary elections.
According to Prof. Onuoha, “From our records, Labour Party and others didn’t invite us for their primaries.
“Some others invited us, but we got there, their doors were locked. We could not find anyone”.
While assuring of the Commission’s preparedness to organise a transparent and hitch-free election, the REC said, “Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) has been configured, while non-sensitive materials had been deployed”.
Concerned about uncollected 101, 617 Permanent Voters Cards (PVC) in the areas scheduled for the election and calling on residents to pick up their cards, Prof. Onuoha noted that “there are 719,504 registered voters in the seven local governments where the bye-election will be held. 101,617 voter cards are yet to be collected.”
Reacting to the call by the PDP for his redeployment, the REC dismissed it and sued for media collaboration to enable the commission to deliver a free, fair and credible election.
“Even if you bring your brother to INEC, he can’t compromise elections because of the way the commission is structured,” he emphasised.
