16/08/2026
ISIEC & Imo’s L.G. Elections: Where Is the Roadmap?
By Eustace Okere
On September 21, 2024, elections were held into the 27 local government areas and 305 wards of Imo State, with the Imo State Independent Electoral Commission (ISIEC) declaring the All Progressives Congress (APC) winner of all the chairmanship and councillorship seats.
The elected chairmen and vice-chairmen were subsequently sworn in by Governor Hope Uzodimma on September 30, 2024.
That brings us to the question that is increasingly being asked across the state: what is ISIEC doing about the next local government election?
If the present councils are operating on a two-year tenure, as generally understood in connection with the 2024 election cycle, their tenure should be approaching its end in September 2026. Yet, as August 2026 approaches its middle, the people of Imo are still waiting for a clear public roadmap.
Where is the timetable?
When will political parties begin their preparations?
When will nominations open?
When will campaigns commence?
When will the electorate know the rules, dates and procedures for the election?
These are not unreasonable questions. They are fundamental questions in a democracy.
The local government is unarguably the level of government closest to the ordinary citizen. It is where questions about rural roads, markets, sanitation, primary healthcare, community infrastructure, environmental management and grassroots development should receive immediate attention.
That is why local government elections should not be treated as an administrative afterthought.
ISIEC therefore owes Imolites clarity.
The Commission should tell the people what the law provides regarding the tenure of the present councils and, where elections are due, publish a definite timetable sufficiently early to allow political parties, candidates, civil society organisations, the media and voters to prepare.
This is particularly important because the 2024 election itself generated controversy. ISIEC declared all 27 chairmanship and 305 councillorship seats won by the APC, while reports at the time noted significant voter apathy and an opposition boycott.
The lesson should be obvious: every subsequent local government election must inspire greater public confidence, participation and transparency.
The Supreme Court's recognition of local government autonomy has also heightened public interest in who controls local councils and how they are elected. Local government democracy cannot be meaningful if citizens are left guessing about when they will next have the opportunity to choose their grassroots representatives.
This is therefore not a call against any political party or individual. It is a call for institutional responsibility.
ISIEC should speak.
If the elections are due in 2026, give Imolites the timetable.
If there is a legal or constitutional reason why they are not due, tell the people clearly.
Silence creates suspicion; transparency creates confidence.
The people of Imo State are not asking for a favour. They are asking to know when they will again exercise their constitutional democratic right to choose those who will administer their local governments.
ISIEC, Imolites are waiting; Eustace Okere is watching.
