By Princely Onyenwe | News Desk
OWERRI, Imo State – The Imo State Independent Electoral Commission (ISIEC) has indefinitely postponed the 2026 Local Government Council election, earlier scheduled for Saturday, November 7, leaving political parties, aspirants and residents uncertain about when the long-awaited council polls will take place.
The Chairman of ISIEC, Chief Charles Ejiogu, announced the decision on Saturday, October 31, 2026, during a stakeholders’ meeting in Owerri.
Ejiogu said the commission had consulted widely before arriving at the decision but did not disclose any specific reason for the latest postponement.
He stated that the commission was “constrained to announce that the scheduled Saturday, 7th November, 2026 Local Government Council Elections will no longer hold.”
The ISIEC chairman, however, assured stakeholders that a fresh election date, timetable and guidelines would be announced within the shortest possible time.
The latest development marks the second major postponement of the Imo council election, which was initially scheduled for September 26, 2026, before being shifted to November 7 following disagreements among political stakeholders and legal challenges surrounding the electoral timetable.
The election is expected to cover all 27 Local Government Areas of Imo State, comprising 305 wards and 4,758 polling units, making the postponement a significant development for grassroots political administration across the state.
The commission had earlier explained that consultations with the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) and other stakeholders informed the adjustment of the initial September timetable.
At Saturday’s meeting, Ejiogu reaffirmed ISIEC’s commitment to conducting a peaceful, transparent and credible election that would produce democratically elected local government chairmen and councillors.
He also disclosed that the commission was working with security agencies towards establishing an Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) to coordinate security arrangements before, during and after the eventual polls.
With the November 7 date now cancelled and no replacement announced, attention has shifted to when ISIEC will release a fresh timetable and how the commission intends to resolve the issues surrounding the electoral process.
For now, political parties, candidates and Imo residents will have to await further clarification from the electoral commission, hence the indefinite cancellation by ISEC.
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