TELL Magazine

Fifteen political parties would be contesting the September 19, 2020 governorship election in Edo State. This was according to the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Edo State, Johnson Alalibo Samikiem, who spoke to journalists on Thursday at  the mail bowl of the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin, venue of the primary election of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. Samikiem said the Commission was well-prepared to conduct a hitch-free governorship election in the state said the Commission had no challenges in preparing for the governorship election in the shortest time he was posted to the state.

“INEC is fully prepared to conduct a free and credible election in the state. And in this regard, we have 15 political parties who have registered with us to participate in the forthcoming governorship election in the state”.

Samikiem expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the ongoing PDP primary election, stating that it was in line with the electoral law as regards COVID-19 regulations Act.
He said INEC is empowered by the law to monitor any elections in the state, hence his attendance in the primary.

“So far so good; I am impressed with the conduct of the election particularly its compliance with the electoral laws as regards the COVID-19 regulations. INEC is empowered by the law to monitor any election in the country, and that is why I’m here”, he said.