Edo: API poll tips PDP to win gov election

A poll conducted by the Africa Polling Institute (API), an independent opinion research think tank, has tipped the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Asue Ighodalo, to win the forthcoming Edo state governorship election.

The survey indicated that the PDP candidate is likely to emerge victorious ahead of his two closest opponents, Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Olumide Akpata of the Labour Party (LP).

The state-wide poll, conducted between August 12 and 16, 2024, according to API’s Executive Director, Prof. Bell Ihua, aimed to capture the perceptions and attitudes of Edo State citizens, residents, and voters on the forthcoming gubernatorial elections.

“In summary, the poll revealed that Mr. Asue Ighodalo (with 43 percent) is currently in a strong position, maintaining a 23-point lead over his closest opponent, Mr. Monday Okpebholo (with 20 percent), while Mr. Olumide Akpata (with 9 percent) trails from a distance,” the report released on Wednesday stated.

The report revealed that a significant proportion of undecided voters, 28 percent, may be able to swing the votes in favour of any of the two leading candidates.

Additionally, it stated that 94 percent of respondents were registered in Edo State and had collected their permanent voters’ cards (PVCs), while 83 percent had given some thought to the Edo 2024 governorship election.

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In terms of election integrity, the document said 47 percent of respondents are not at all confident in INEC’s ability to conduct a free, fair, and credible election, while 34 percent have some confidence, and 19 percent have complete confidence in INEC.

The report added: “Respondents were also asked which political party stood the best chance of winning the Edo 2024 governorship election. From the response, 42 percent thought that PDP stands the best chance of winning, followed by 22 percent who mentioned APC, and 6 percent who favoured LP.

“When asked if they were sure to vote in the Edo 2024 governorship election, 82 percent responded affirmatively, 9 percent said they wouldn’t be voting, and 8 percent said they were unsure.”

The data further revealed that the top five factors that will mainly influence voters’ decisions in the election are the candidate’s competence, personality, experience, track record, political party, and party manifesto, among others.

“Consequently, when asked which candidate meets these factors, 43 percent of respondents thought it was Asue Ighodalo, 21 percent mentioned Monday Okpebholo, and 7 percent believed Olumide Akpata. However, 29 percent of the respondents were unsure of the candidate that meets the factors,” the survey added.