The Ebonyi State Independent Electoral Commission (EBSIEC) has fixed August 15 for the Local Government Area (LGA) elections in the state.
The chairman of the commission, Chief Jossy Eze, during a meeting with representatives of political parties, security agencies and other stakeholders assured that the exercise would be transparent and credible.
Eze said that the election formerly fixed for April 25 was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, saying that the electoral process would not be implemented ‘afresh’ but ‘only revised.’
“We are mindful of the COVID-19 rules and restrictions and have, therefore, revised our guidelines to be in line with the protocols.
“Political parties are, therefore, urged to commence activities such as campaigns but they must be in conformity with all COVID-19 protocols.
“The public should also know that recruitment of Ad-hoc staff, enlightenment and other processes that will lead to the election will all be COVID-19 protocols compliant,” he said.
The EBSIEC chairman urged political parties to ‘be in line’ with the commission to ensure peaceful conduct of the polls and use the media and virtual conferencing mechanisms to their advantage.
“We will on July 16, re-publish the names of candidates nominated by various political parties for the elections and adopt the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) guidelines as regards de-registered political parties.
“We shall be fair and open to all political parties and enjoin them to be serious and present credible candidates in order to be successful at the polls,” Eze said.
The Organising Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, Mr Micahal Anyim, thanked the state government for ensuring that the election would ‘eventually’ hold after several months of postponement.
“The PDP is ready to sweep all positions at the polls as we will abide by all regulations and guidelines which will ensure transparent and peaceful polls,” he said.
The state chairman of the Action Alliance (AA), Mr James Obasi, urged EBSIEC to correct the notion that Ebonyi was a ‘PDP’ state with openness before, during and after the elections.
