Edo State Schedules Local Government Elections for July 11, 2026 Amid Past Leadership Disputes
The Edo State Independent Electoral Commission (EDSIEC) has officially announced that local government council elections will be held on Saturday, July 11, 2026. The commission made the declaration during a press briefing in Benin City on Tuesday, July 16, 2025, through its chairman, Jonathan Aifuobhokhan, marking the formal commencement of preparations for the exercise.
According to the timetable released by EDSIEC, the process kicks off with the issuance of the Notice of Election on July 16, 2025. Political party meetings and primaries are expected to hold between November and December 2025, while collection and submission of nomination forms will take place between December 2025 and January 2026. Campaign activities are scheduled to begin in January 2026, leading up to the election day in July. A potential run-off or re-run has been tentatively set for July 25, 2026, if necessary.
The announcement comes in the wake of a series of controversies surrounding local government leadership in Edo State over the past year. In December 2024, the Edo State House of Assembly suspended all 18 local government chairmen and their vice chairmen, citing allegations of misconduct and poor performance. However, this action sparked a constitutional standoff when the Attorney-General of the Federation later declared the suspension illegal, citing the Supreme Court’s July 2024 ruling affirming the autonomy of local governments and forbidding arbitrary interference by state authorities.
In addition to the mass suspensions, several chairmen were impeached individually across various local government areas including Esan North East, Oredo, and Akoko-Edo. These impeachments were often mired in legal and procedural disputes, with some observers accusing the state assembly of bypassing due process.
Despite these leadership crises, EDSIEC did not explicitly link the upcoming election to the suspensions or impeachments. Rather, the commission maintained that the new schedule adheres to statutory electoral procedures. However, the timing of the announcement has reignited political debates about local governance and accountability in Edo State, especially as the 2026 election will be the first full-scale local government poll following the tumultuous events of 2024.
As political parties begin their internal processes and consultations, the eyes of the electorate and civil society will remain fixed on Edo State’s electoral commission to ensure transparency and credibility in the buildup to the polls.
