INEC Lists Candidates for Edo Assembly, But Some Names Are Duplicated

The list of candidates for the 2027 Edo State House of Assembly election has some names showing up under different political parties. This duplication has caught the attention of many.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) released a list with 164 names in Benin. Two candidates are listed under two different parties. Ogbebor Samson Osemudiamen is on both the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lists in Esan North East II. Usman William Idenobe appears under both APM and PDP in Etsako East.

This situation raises questions about their nominations. Are these errors in the list, problems with their nominations, or something else? Many people want to know.

INEC's final list is a vital part of the election process. It shows the candidates who can run in the state’s 24 assembly constituencies.

Toyin Buoro, INEC’s Public Relations Officer in Edo, said they noticed the duplicates too. She mentioned that they have sent this issue to the right people at INEC headquarters.

“Our observation too, but that was what was sent from the headquarters, and we have drawn the attention of the appropriate quarters to it, awaiting their reply,” she said.

Apart from the duplicate names, the list also shows a big gender gap in the candidates. Out of the 164 candidates, 148 are men, which is about 90.24 percent. Only 16 are women, making up 9.76 percent.

This means there are about nine male candidates for every female candidate. Women are still not well represented in the race for state legislative seats, despite many calls for more women to join politics.

Looking at the 16 female candidates, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) has the most, with four women. The Action Democratic Party (ADP) follows with three women. The Labour Party (LP) has two women. Meanwhile, the All Progressives Congress (APC), PDP, Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), African Action Congress (AAC), African Democratic Congress (ADC), Action Peoples Party (APP), and APM each have one woman.

Maria Edeko, aged 63, is the APC's female candidate for Esan North East II. The PDP’s female candidate is Uyigue Efosa, aged 61, running in Ovia North East I. Natasha Osawaru, aged 32, is the NDC candidate for the Egor seat, also running for a second term.

The SDP's four women include Kemi Akerele in Akoko Edo I, Shirley Negbedion in Esan North East I, Imuetinyan Bright in Egor, and Tracy Ogiemwanye in Ikpoba-Okha.

The ADP’s three female candidates are Bukky Ayetan in Egor, Osarenkhoe Erhunmwunse in Ikpoba-Okha, and Patience Edobor in Orhionmwon I.

While women are running in different parties and constituencies, their total number is still below 10 percent of all candidates listed.