Electoral Body Denies Alleged Plan To Cancel Lagos Council Polls

THE Chairman, Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) Justice Abdulfatai Adeyinka (rtd) yesterday dismissed the rumour that there were plans to cancel today's council election in the state, saying the claim was baseless and unfounded.The electoral body's is coming on the heels of allegation by Lagos State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that the commission plans to rig the election in favour of the ruling Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).Speaking at a press briefing in Lagos yesterday, Adeyinka said, 'I have come out boldly to inform Lagosians and all interested observers both at the local and international levels that LASIEC is not planning to rig the elections for or against any party. We at LASIEC are people of integrity and we have our names to protect.'He said the commission would not engage in any act that will tarnish 'our personal and corporate image,' nothing that LASIEC had provided a level playing field for all participants expecting them to play according to the rules.On insinuations that the commission has concluded arrangement to manipulate ballot papers in favour of a particular party, Adeyinka said, 'LASIEC ballot papers have been customized which is a measure to avoid rigging of the election. The names and logos of the political parties that fielded candidates in any of the councils will appear on the ballot paper.He added that 28 parties will contest the council polls t with over 5000 candidates vying in the 8645 polling units across the state.Adeyinka said the election would be conducted based on the voters register obtained from INEC while the voting procedure is the Open Secret Open method.
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