Nasarawa State Independent Electoral Commission (NASIEC) says nine political parties will participate in the November 2 local government council elections in the state.

Ayuba Wandai, chairman of the NASIEC, made the disclosure during a meeting with members and staff of the commission on Monday in Lafia.

“At the close of nominations on October 18, only nine political parties have submitted the list of their candidates to contest for the November 2 elections, following the conduct of their primaries, which were monitored by the commission,” he said.

Mr Wandai noted that the commission was strictly following its timeline of activities for the election and urged political parties willing to substitute candidates to do so within the stipulated time.

He, however, said that reasons for submitting candidates that emerged through the party primaries must be cogent and accompanied by a letter of withdrawal by the candidates.

He urged the political parties to play by the rules and be peaceful in their campaigns and throughout the election process

The NASIEC boss said that the commission would engage more than 10,000 ad hoc staff for the election, saying a recruitment portal had been opened to that effect.

“It will interest you to note that just less than 24 hours since we opened the portal at 2:00 a.m. on October 21, no fewer than 5,000 have applied.

“We would screen and begin training of the ad hoc staff by next week and their final list will be published 72 hours to the elections.

“Payment of the ad hoc staff will be done centrally from the commission’s headquarters in order to eliminate complaints witnessed in the past,” he said.

On the issue of logistics for the elections, Mr Wandai said that arrangements was being concluded to ensure that election materials were distributed well ahead of time to avoid any delay of the polls.

“We expect that all election materials would have left NASIEC Headquarters to the various LGAs 48 hours to the election and distributed at the various LGAs 24 hours to the polls,” he said.

He said that the commission would not be deploying technologies such as the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) or card readers for the forthcoming local government council elections.

Mr Wandai said that the Nasarawa State Election Law 2018, governing the election, did not provide for the use of technological devices.

He restated the commission’s commitment to conduct a free, fair and credible election that would be acceptable to all.

The NASIEC boss, therefore, urged staff of the commission to be steadfast and discharge their duties with the fear of God, commitment and the professionalism it deserved. 

(NAN)