Ondo gov’ship: No female candidates as INEC lifts campaign embargo June 19

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that there are no female candidates included in the final list of contestants for the Ondo State governorship election scheduled for November 16.

Sam Olumekun, the National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, revealed this on Thursday in a statement released in Abuja regarding the final list of candidates for the Ondo election.

Olumekun also disclosed that public campaigns by political parties will officially commence on June 19 and conclude on November 14.

According to him, in adherence to Section 33 of the Electoral Act 2022, the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) held fresh primaries to replace their earlier nominated candidates and their running mates by the deadline of June 10, while five parties replaced their running mates only.

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“In total, 17 political parties are presenting candidates for the election. None of the political parties has nominated a female candidate, while one candidate nominated by the African Democratic Congress (ADC) is a person with a disability (a paraplegic),” Olumekun stated.

He further provided a breakdown of the candidates by age and academic qualifications, emphasising that the final list has been published at the INEC office in Akure and uploaded to their website and social media platforms for public access.

Regarding the commencement of public campaign by political parties, Olumekun clarified that with the publication of the final list of candidates, the next step is electioneering campaign.

“As stipulated by Section 94(1) of the Electoral Act 2022, campaign by Political Parties in public shall begin not earlier than 150 days before polling day and end 24 hours prior to that day. Consequently, political parties are now permitted to commence public campaign from Wednesday, June 19, 2024, and conclude at midnight on Thursday, November 14, 2024, as indicated in items 8 and 12 of the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the election,” he explained.