As the campaign for the December 12 council elections commenced in Kogi State today, the 4th of November, the Chairman of the State Independent Electoral Commission(SIEC), Hon. Mamman Nda Eri has appealed to political parties in the state to conduct themselves in a peaceful manner throughout the period.
During a press briefing held in his office, the SIEC Chairman urged party candidates and political stakeholders to structure their campaign on issues of general interest rather than attacks on personalities; admonishing them to embrace peace while campaigning.
Mamman Eri also advised political parties to use the period of the campaign to educate voters on correct voting, saying they could earn more credible votes by so doing.
Speaking on composition of candidates and gender sensitive, the chairman said the documentation of party candidates showed that 1,356 candidates contested out of which 132 were females; amounting to 10.8 percent of the total contestants.
He commended political parties for being more gender sensitive, explaining that most of the parties had conceded the position of the Vice Chairman and some councillorship posts to women, while also applauding women for their courage and open participation in politics.
The Chairman assured the people of SIEC’s preparedness at providing a level playing ground for all political parties; urging party candidates to demonstrate same tolerance for one another before, during and after the elections.
He said SIEC would leverage on the architecture of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in providing adequate manpower and logistics to archieve its purposes of conducting a free, fair and credible elections.
While reacting to the challenge that might arise from the #Endsars protests on the elections, Mamman Eri assured the people of a peacful outing on December 12; explaining that the protest was minimal in the state and that the Commission was hopeful of a successful election.
Modupe Adegboro
PRO, SIEC.
Sign:
Hon. Alh. Yakubu Musa Chogudo, Commissioner in Charge, Media and Publicity.