Ekiti state Independent Electoral Commission (ESIEC) has disclosed that only six political parties have fielded candidates for the Dec. 4, state local government councils poll
The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had earlier announced that it would participate in the poll, citing lack of confidence on the electoral commission to conduct a free and fair election
Justice Jide Aladejana, the Chairman of the State Independent Electoral Commission (SIEC), Justice Jide Aladejan, who disclosed this when he spoke with newsmen in Ado-Ekiti, assured that the election would be free, fair and credible, as no politician would be allowed to hijack and manipulate the outcome of the elections.
“Let me use this opportunity to assure the electorate that the commission will conduct free, fair and credible poll that will meet the yearnings of all participating parties in the state,” he said.
He named the political parties as taking part in the election as Action Alliance (AA), African Democratic Congress (ADC), All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), All Progressives Congress (APC), National Reduce Movement (NRM), and Young Progressives Party (YPP).
He added that the election would hold in the 16 statutory Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state and the 19 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) across the 2,195 polling units in the state.
“We are going to make the election free, fair, and credible. This is our target and nothing can stop us. We won’t allow anyone to manipulate the process.
“We are going to be as transparent as possible by monitoring the process and ensure that the votes of the people count,” he said.
The SIEC chairman stated that sensitive materials for the election would be made public on the eve of the election to avoid manipulations.
He added that the fact that the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) plans to boycott the poll would not vitiate the process.
“All of us are participants in the electoral system, but the only difference is that the political parties must sponsor candidates.
“We are ready for the election. We have trained our ad hoc staff and the electoral officers in the 16 LGAs and 19 LCDAs.
“We will work with security agencies to caution those who may wish to disrupt the conduct of the election,” the chairman said.
