2016 Edo State gubernatorial election

28 September 2016

Nominee Godwin Obaseki Osagie Ize-Iyamu Party APC PDP Running mate Philip Shaibu John Yakubu Popular vote 319,483 253,173 Percentage 52.09% 41.28%

Governor before election Adams Oshiomhole APC Elected Governor Godwin Obaseki APC

The 2016 Edo State gubernatorial election was held on 28 September, 2016 to determine the Governor of Edo State. The election was originally scheduled for 10 September, however two days before, on 8 September it was postponed due to security concerns.^[1][2]

The incumbent governor, Adams Oshiomhole, was ineligible to run for a third consecutive term due to term limits established in the Fifth Amendment to the Nigeria Constitution.^[3] He was succeeded by Godwin Obaseki, who defeated PDP candidate Osagie Ize-Iyamu in the election.

Electoral system

The Governor of Edo State is elected using the plurality voting system.

PDP primary

In the PDP primary election held on 20 June 2016, Osagie Ize-Iyamu polled a total of 584 votes to defeat Matthew Iduoriyekemwen, his closest rival, who had 91 votes while Solomon Edebiri scored 38 votes.^[4]

APC primary

Godwin Obaseki, chairman of the Edo State Economy and Strategy Team, emerged victorious in the APC primary, winning 1,618 votes against 11 other candidates. His closest rival was Pius Odubu, the state deputy governor, who came a distant second with 471 votes. The total number of invalid votes was 41. The only female candidate in the primary, Tina Agbarha, came last with just three votes.^[5]

General Election

A total of 19 candidates registered with the Independent National Electoral Commission. APC candidate Obaseki won the election with 52% of the vote to PDP candidate Ize-Iyamu's 41%.

The total number of registered voters in the state was 1,900,233 while 622,039 voters were accredited. Voter turnout was 613,244 and the difference in total votes won between the two major candidates was 66,310.^[6]

References