5th September, 2011
The Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) has declared that the local government elections in 20 local governments and 37 local council development areas in the state scheduled for 22 October will go on despite amending the guidelines for the elections.
Chairman of the commission, Justice Afolabi Abdul-Fatai Adeyinka (retd.), made this declaration at a meeting with political parties to update them on the elections and guidelines.
Adeyinka said the guidelines were updated to accommodate applications for extension of time filed by 14 political parties to conduct their primaries.
“Upon the various applications by 14 political parties for extension of time to conduct their primaries, we discovered the need to extend the period for the conduct of the party primaries in order to give more time for preparations. The Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission is strictly committed to organising free, fair and credible elections,†Adeyinka stated.
With the amended guidelines, political parties participating in the local government elections are expected to end their campaigns on Thursday, 20 October, by 6 p.m., while the polls will hold on Saturday, 22 October and the run-off will hold on Wednesday, 26 October.
The commission urged political parties to mobilise the electorate to come out in large numbers to vote for leaders of their choice and discourage them from acts of violence, rigging and ballot box snatching during the elections.
—Paul Sanusi