Delta Council Polls Hold January 6

Omon-Julius Onabu in Asaba

Election of chairmen and councillors of the 25 local government areas of Delta State will take place in exactly three months, the Delta State Independent Electoral Commission (DSIEC) has said.

The Chairman of DSIEC, Chief Michael Ogbodu, who disclosed this during the commission’s meeting with leaders of political parties in the state, on Wednesday in Asaba, said: “Local government election in Delta State shall hold on January 6, 2018.”

According to Ogbodu, the date was chosen so that the commission could comply with the relevant law governing the conduct of the council polls, explaining that the processes outlined for the election by DSIEC was in line with the provisions of the law as passed recently by the state legislature.

The tenure of the incumbent chairmen and councillors across the state comes to an end this month (October); and, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa has maintained that his administration would not entertain any caretaker committees running the affairs of the local government councils.
“For the purpose of clarity, we have drawn up this election time-table and guidelines strictly in line with our laws.”

The DSIEC chairman, however, promised level playing field for all the participating political parties and sued for their cooperation bearing in mind the vital role of the local government in the democratic process in the state and country at large.

Among the issues that engaged robust discussion among the parties’ leaders at the meeting were the neutral role expected of DSIEC as the umpire as well as the strict adherence to the stated regulations as well as adequate and the timely supply of all necessary materials for the election.

The meeting was attended by members of DSIEC and leaders or representatives of many political parties, including the PDP, the APC, SDP, Young Democratic Party (YDM), United Progressive Party (UPP), Accord Party and Labour Party.

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