The
Ekiti State Independent Electoral Commission (EKSIEC) has announced
that five political parties will contest Saturday's local government
elections in the state and also said that women in veil would be barred
from voting.
Chairman of EKSIEC, Justice Kayode Bamisile (rtd), who addressed newsmen in Ado Ekiti, the state capital, on Wednesday, also said the commission had engaged 7,000 ad hoc staff comprising youth corps members and unemployed graduates and added that they would be deployed as presiding officers in all the 2,195 polling units where elections would take place.
Justice Bamisile also said there would be restriction of movement in the state on the election day, saying Governor Ayo Fayose and government officials in the state were also expected to obey the restriction of movement between 8.00 a.m and 4.00 p.m.
According to him, five political parties namely African People's Alliance (APA), KOWA, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Peoples Party of Nigeria (PPN) and United Peoples Party (UPP) would be participating in the polls, out of about the 24 political parties in the state.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) had boycotted the elections and had earlier gone to court to challenge the composition of EKSIEC, a matter which was dismissed on Monday for lack of merit.
He explained that those in veil would not be voting because the body won’t deploy card readers for the elections and the only means of identification would be through the permanent voter cards and facial look.
He said: “You cannot vote when we are not seeing your face. We have said we are not using card readers and you have to be identified facially before you can vote in these elections. We don’t want to conduct inconclusive elections, so the commission will not deploy card readers because that may slow down the pace of voting."
Bamisile assured that effective measures would be put in place to check underage voting in the elections, contrary to what was reported during the March 28 presidential poll.
Chairman of EKSIEC, Justice Kayode Bamisile (rtd), who addressed newsmen in Ado Ekiti, the state capital, on Wednesday, also said the commission had engaged 7,000 ad hoc staff comprising youth corps members and unemployed graduates and added that they would be deployed as presiding officers in all the 2,195 polling units where elections would take place.
Justice Bamisile also said there would be restriction of movement in the state on the election day, saying Governor Ayo Fayose and government officials in the state were also expected to obey the restriction of movement between 8.00 a.m and 4.00 p.m.
According to him, five political parties namely African People's Alliance (APA), KOWA, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Peoples Party of Nigeria (PPN) and United Peoples Party (UPP) would be participating in the polls, out of about the 24 political parties in the state.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) had boycotted the elections and had earlier gone to court to challenge the composition of EKSIEC, a matter which was dismissed on Monday for lack of merit.
He explained that those in veil would not be voting because the body won’t deploy card readers for the elections and the only means of identification would be through the permanent voter cards and facial look.
He said: “You cannot vote when we are not seeing your face. We have said we are not using card readers and you have to be identified facially before you can vote in these elections. We don’t want to conduct inconclusive elections, so the commission will not deploy card readers because that may slow down the pace of voting."
Bamisile assured that effective measures would be put in place to check underage voting in the elections, contrary to what was reported during the March 28 presidential poll.
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