INEC bows to Police advice, postpones Edo election by 2 weeks

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has postponed the Edo state governorship election by two weeks, Punch newspaper is reporting.

The decision was reached hours after the electoral body announced that it would go ahead with the election.

The newspaper said INEC held a meeting with security officials in Benin, the state capital, on Thursday evening.

Citing security reasons, the Department of State Services (DSS) and the police had advised the commission to shift the poll, but the commission said it was “97 percent ready” for the election, and there was no going back.

“After carefully weighing all the consequences and parameters of postponing the Edo governorship election as advised yesterday by spokespersons of the Police and Directorate of State Security (DSS), the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has decided to go ahead with the conduct of the election as scheduled for Saturday, 10th September 2016,” Nick Dazang, INEC’s director of voter education, had said in a statement.

“Except the actual conduct of the election, the commission has scrupulously implemented all the items listed in the Timetable And Schedule of Activities for the EDO governorship election which it issued in March this year.”

Godwin Obaseki, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and Osagie Ize-Iyamu, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), are the frontrunners for the election.