THE Chairman of Imo State Independent Electoral Commission (ISIEC), Mr Charles Ejiogu has said
Saturday, 21 September 2O24, the scheduled date for the local government elections in the state, remains sacrosanct, barring unforeseen circumstances.
Speaking during an interface with the various security outfits in Owerri, Mr Ejiogu declared that elections may not hold in three local government councils namely Onuimo, Okigwe and Orsu – due to insecurity.
He hinted that the major operational challenges facing the Commission in the discharge of its duties ahead of the upcoming elections are the protection of staff and election materials.
Mr Ejiogu noted that electoral officers cannot get easy access to some local government areas for routine verification of polling units and collation centres in line with operational guidelines.
He commended Governor Hope Uzodinma, whom he said has created an enabling environment for the Commission to actualize its constitutional mandate of conducting a free, fair and transparent exercise that will usher in 27 chairmen, their deputies and 305 councillors.
The state electoral chief also stressed that recruitment of 15,000 ad-hoc staff for both field and internal operations is still ongoing, even as he restated the stand of the Commission not to interfere in the internal affairs of any political party.
Eighteen-Eleven Media