The much expected local government council elections in Imo State has been slated to take place this weekend.
The chairman of the State Independent Electoral Commission (ISIEC), Ethelbert A C Ibebuchi, disclosed this to newsmen in Owerri.
He said that the exercise which is a product of a holistic pragmatic approach would take place in 3,523 polling units and 44 voting points in the state.
Ibebuchi, who claimed ignorance of any existing court order restraining the commission from going ahead with the polls, said that a total of 14 political parties would participate in the exercise, just as the electoral body in the state observed the primaries of 22 political parties for the elections, adding that he was equally not aware of any threat by the opposition parties to boycott the polls.
According to the ISIEC boss, the 2018 council elections in the state requires over 8,000 ad-hoc staff of varying academic standards.
Conscious of this critical segment of the electoral process, Ibebuchi said that the electoral commission (ISIEC) went extra miles to conduct three-in one examination (English, Mathematics and Current Affairs) so that only the best would be good enough for the people of the state.
Aside this, Ibebuchi said that the commission has thrown its doors open to notable democratic institutions including the non-governmental organizations (NGOs), Forum of State Independent Electoral Commissions of Nigeria (FOSIETON) among others to engage and objectively observe the exercise without hindrance.
He assured that the commission had installed a level playing field for all the participating political parties and their respective candidates for justice to prevail.
