Edo Electoral Body Holds Councillorship by-elections Despite Court Order

The Edo State Independent Electoral Commission (EDSIEC) went ahead on Saturday to conduct by-elections for councillorship seats across the state in spite of a restraining order from the Edo State High Court.

The polls were held in 59 wards spread across 15 local government areas.

Only the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) participated in the exercise, as other political parties stayed away. The boycott followed controversy over the legality of the elections and the court’s directive suspending the process.

The by-elections stemmed from a resolution by the Edo State House of Assembly, which called for the filling of vacant councillorship seats created during the crisis that rocked local government administration earlier in Governor Monday Okpebholo’s tenure.

But the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) challenged the move, filing an ex-parte motion before Justice Mary Itsueli. The party argued that the tenure of the affected councillors runs until September 2026, making the attempt to declare their seats vacant unlawful.

Justice Itsueli, sitting as a vacation judge on September 16, 2025, granted leave for the PDP to pursue judicial review. She ordered that EDSIEC suspend all steps towards conducting the by-elections until the case was determined.

Despite the ruling, EDSIEC proceeded with the polls, drawing sharp criticism from opposition parties and sparking legal uncertainty over the status of the exercise.

At the time of this report, results from the elections were still being collated and had not been officially released.