The Ondo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), announced its withdrawal from the local government elections scheduled for Saturday, January 18, 2025.
The Ondo State Independent Electoral Commission (ODIEC) had initially cleared 13 political parties, including the PDP, to participate in the elections.
However, the PDP’s decision reduces the number of contesting parties to 12.
In a statement released on Thursday by its Director of Media and Publicity, Mr. Leye Igbabo, the PDP cited a lack of confidence in the transparency and credibility of the electoral process as the reason for its withdrawal.
Titled “Ondo PDP Withdraws from Participating in the January 18th Local Government Election,” the statement revealed that the decision followed extensive consultations with party leaders, stakeholders, and the party’s National Secretariat.
“The Peoples Democratic Party, Ondo State Chapter, has withdrawn from participating in the January 18, 2025, Local Government elections organised by the Ondo State Independent Electoral Commission (ODIEC),” the statement read.
The party alleged that ODIEC had displayed double standards and failed to meet the integrity test required for conducting free and fair elections.
“Our party fielded 15 chairmanship candidates across 15 local government areas and 131 councillorship candidates.
However, recent observations and reports point to a troubling pattern of double standards by ODIEC, raising serious doubts about its impartiality and credibility,” the statement added.
The PDP emphasized that participating in a flawed process would contradict its principles of democracy and electoral integrity.
“As a responsible political party committed to democracy and the rule of law, we cannot, in good conscience, confer legitimacy on this compromised process by participating in the election,” the statement noted.
The party reaffirmed its commitment to upholding democratic values and ensuring credible elections, even if it meant stepping away from the current exercise.
