Ahead of the 2015 general elections in Edo state, a combined figure 
of about 302 aspirants have so far picked nomination forms on platform 
of the two major political parties in the state, namely, the Peoples 
Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo to 
contest for 36 parliamentary seats available in the state in the 2015 
general elections.
 
 A breakdown of nomination forms obtained by
 aspirants indicates that nine persons are gunning for the three senate 
tickets in the APC primaries, just as 11 aspirants, including a woman, 
will jostle for the tickets in the PDP.
On the other hand, 30 
contenders have emerged for the nine tickets to the House of 
Representatives’ seats in APC, against the 41 aspirants who have 
indicated their interest on the platform of the PDP.
Similarly, 
for the state assembly elections, 117 aspirants have picked forms under 
the APC, while 94 contenders will vie for tickets under the PDP.
Edo
 state Chairman of the APC, Anselm Ojezua, while commenting on the 
development, attributed the high number of aspirants seeking to contest 
on the platform of the party to its  popularity among the people of the 
state.
He explained that APC would organise a meeting comprising all the 
party organs at which the aspirants would be sensitised on the 
guidelines for the party primaries to ensure fairness.
“We are 
actually going to have a meeting with the all the party organs in the 
state and the aspirants where we brief them on the guidelines and the 
timetable for the exercise. The rules are very clear and we have assured
 them that we are going to have a transparent process,” Ojezua said.
He
 revealed that the party had a gender sensitive policy which it had 
demonstrated through the 15 women who had secured their nomination 
without paying fees.
Also speaking in the same vein, the State 
Chairman of PDP, Chief Dan Orbih, described the figure as a reflection 
of the rising profile of the party against the ruling APC. He expressed 
confidence in the party’s ability to file credible candidates for all 
the available positions in the elections.
“It is the outcome of 
our conscious effort that has brought that figure. It is also good for 
democracy and it will afford the members of the party opportunity to 
choose from the many people who have indicated interest to contest on 
that platform,” he said.

 
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