INDEPENDENT National Electoral Commission (INEC) will be holding the sixth gubernatorial election in Osun State by July 16.
The election will feature 15 political parties and candidates, but only five of them are on the frontline.
Parties and Candidates
They are Akinade Akanmu Ogunbiyi, 59, and his deputy, Jimoh Mukailu Adekunle, 61 of the Accord Party; the incumbent governor Adegboyega Isiaka Oyetola, 67, and his deputy Benedict Olugboyega Alabi, 56, of All Progressives Congress (APC); Yusuf Sulaiman Lasun, 61, Adeola Adekunle Atanda, 53, Labour Party (LP); Adeleke Ademola Jackson Nurudeen, 61, and his deputy, Adewusi Kola Adegboyega, 62, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Omigbodun Oyegoke Akinrinola, 58, and his deputy Oni Mukaila Adesoye, 66, Social Democratic Party (SDP). All the parties and candidates are expected to end political campaigns by Thursday, July 14.
Senatorial districts and LGAs in Osun
There are three senatorial districts, 30 local government areas, 332 wards and 3,763 polling units in Osun State.
Osun State has the second largest number of LGAs in the South West after Oyo State (34 LGAs).
Each senatorial district comprises ten local government areas. Osun West senatorial district consists of Aiyedaade, Aiyedire, Ede North and South, Ejigbo, Egbedore, Irewole, Isokan, Iwo and Ola-Oluwa.
Osun Central senatorial district consists of Boripe, Boluwaduro, Ifedayo, Ifelodun, Ila, Irepodun, Odo-Otin, Olorunda, Orolu and Osogbo, while Osun East senatorial district consists of Atakumosa East and West, Ife Central, East, North and South, Ilesa East and West, Obokun and Oriade Local Government Areas.
Registered Voters
As of June 2022, the total number of registered voters is 1, 955, 657 as against 1,600,000 registered voters in the last election. The uncollected PVCs stand at 377,807 by June.
Observers
INEC has approved 79 local and eight international observers for the election monitoring. The list includes the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development, CJID, Action Aid, YIAGA, Police Service Commission, the Albino Foundation and others. The foreign observers include the British High Commission, the Canadian Embassy, the Embassy of the United States, the European Union, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, the National Democratic Institute, the International Republican Institute and the Pan African Women’s Project.
The police authorities also confirmed that 21 personnel have been deployed to keep security during the election.
The winner of the election will be inaugurated on November 27, 2022.
Ajibola Amzat, Managing Editor at The ICIR. He can be reached via [email protected]
and @ajibolaamzat on Twitter.