Kehinde Fajobi
The Ondo State Independent Electoral Commission (ODIEC) has assured the public that the withdrawal of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from the local government election scheduled for Saturday will not disrupt the process.
The PDP, in a statement by its Director of Media and Publicity, Leye Igbabo, announced its decision to withdraw from the election, citing a lack of confidence in the electoral process conducted by ODIEC.
Reacting to the development, ODIEC Chairman Dr Joseph Aremo, speaking to journalists at the commission’s headquarters in Akure, said the poll would proceed as planned.
“The withdrawal of the PDP will not affect the conduct of the election. No candidate can contest any position if not sponsored by a political party,” Aremo said.
He dismissed allegations of bias, emphasising the commission’s transparency and fairness to all participating parties.
“For us, we’ve created a template where every party has the ability to showcase whatever it has. The PDP has been part of this process—they have candidates who appeared for screening, submitted their particulars, and even submitted their list of agents two days ago.
“Now, we’ve received a letter from them announcing their withdrawal. If one party out of 13 withdraws, should we jeopardise the interests of others? The process must continue,” he added.
Aremo also assured the public of adequate security during the election, stressing that measures had been implemented to ensure a seamless and peaceful process.
“With the strategies we’ve put in place, I can confidently say the election will be peaceful and seamless,” Aremo said.
The ODIEC chairman maintained that the election would hold as scheduled, regardless of the PDP’s withdrawal.