The Anambra State governorship election will be conducted on Saturday, 8 November 2025, according to the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC).
At the fourth regular quarterly consultative meeting with political parties in Abuja on Thursday, INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu said the date was chosen in compliance with Section 28(1) of the Electoral Act 2022, which requires the commission to issue the notice for elections not later than 360 days before the date of the election.
He said: “As you are aware, the last governorship election in Anambra State was held on 6 November 2021. By the effluxion of time, the governorship election is due next year.
“Consequently, the commission has approved that the 2025 Anambra State Governorship election will hold on Saturday 8 November 2025.
“In compliance with the mandatory requirement of 360 days, the formal notice for the election will be published on 13 November 2024. Party primaries will be held from 20 March 2025 to 10 April 2025.
“The candidate nomination portal will open at 9 am on 18 April 2025 and close at 6 pm on 12 May 2025. The final list of candidates will be published on 9 June 2025.
“Campaign in public by political parties will commence on 11 June 2025 and end at midnight of Thursday 6 November 2025.
“Voting will take place in all the 5,720 polling units across the state on Saturday 8 November 2025.
“In the coming weeks, the commission will provide details of other electoral activities, including the registration of new voters, transfer of voters and the replacement of lost or damaged PVCs (Permanent Voters’ Cards).
“The detailed Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the 2025 Anambra State Governorship election will be uploaded to our website and social media platforms before the end of this meeting. Hard copies will also be made available to you shortly.
“I urge political parties to use the INEC Timetable to come up with your own Timetable and Schedule of Activities to enable us work together and plan better for the deployment of personnel and resources for the monitoring of your party primaries and campaign activities”.
Yakubu also said that INEC has successfully accomplished 10 out of the 13 activities listed in the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the Ondo State governorship election, which will be conducted on 16 November 2024.
He said the remaining activities included the publication of the notice of poll, the last day of campaign and election day, adding that the PVCs from the last Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) commenced on Thursday in the state.
Chairman of Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Alhaji Yusuf Dantalle noted that Nigerians expected INEC to improve on the forthcoming Ondo State gubernatorial poll.
He also said that urgent steps should be taken to ameliorate the hardship millions of Nigerians were facing as that would spur their political participation that will give more credence to the electoral process.
“Council urges stakeholders in the electoral process to join in voter education, sensitisation and mobilisation to ensure a free, fair, credible, transparent, inclusive, and peaceful election that will meet international standards.
“IPAC will lead from the front in voter mobilisation as a major stakeholder, and urges political parties and their candidates to imbibe issue-based campaigns and eschew politics of bitterness”, he said.
