The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has won 16 out of the 18 chairmanship seats in the local government elections in Ondo State.

The Chairman of the Ondo State Independent Electoral Commission (ODIEC), Joseph Aeemo, declared this at the headquarters of the commission in Akure on Sunday.

He noted that while the rescheduled election is being held in Ondo West LGA, results are being expected from Owo LGA.

Only twelve political parties contested for the chairmanship and councillorship offices in the elections held on Saturday.

Ahead of the poll, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) announced its decision to withdraw from the election, saying it does not believe in the Ondo State Independent Electoral Commission to conduct a credible election.

The names of the 12 political parties contesting in the election include: Action Alliance, Action Democratic Party, Action People’s Party, All Progressives Congress, All Progressives Grand Alliance, Boot Party, and Labour Party.

Others include the National Rescue Party, New Nigeria Peoples Party, Social Democratic Party, Young Progressive Party, and Zenith Labour Party.

Before the Saturday poll, the last council election in the state was conducted on August 23, 2020, with the tenure of the elected council officials elapsing on August 22, 2023.

Since then, the administration of the 18 council areas of the state has been managed by civil servants, specifically the Heads of Local Government Administrations.

However, after several postponements, the Ondo State Independent Electoral Commission finally fixed January 18, 2025, for the conduct of the election.