By Peter Dansu As preparations intensify for Saturday’s highly anticipated local government elections in Lagos, the Lagos State Independen...
By Peter Dansu
As preparations intensify for Saturday’s highly anticipated local government elections in Lagos, the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) has announced a major change in its voter accreditation process—BVAS will no longer be used.
LASIEC Chairman, Justice Bola Okikiolu-Ighile (Rtd), made this known on Thursday while addressing journalists on the commission’s readiness to oversee the election of 57 council chairmen and 376 councillors across the state.
Clarifying the scope of the elections, she stated that voting will take place in all 20 Local Government Areas (LGAs) and 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs), with a total of 13,325 polling units involved.
Justice Okikiolu-Ighile disclosed that out of the 19 political parties that initially signaled interest, only 15 will participate in the polls. She also revealed that Lagos currently has 7,060,195 registered voters. Of this number, 6,214,970 have collected their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), while 845,225 PVCs remain unclaimed.
In a significant update, the LASIEC boss announced that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS)—widely used in national elections—would not be deployed this time. Instead, the commission will rely on an alternative mobile-based electronic system.
“We’ve adopted a mobile device that performs the same function as BVAS. It works seamlessly across all locations and ensures quick, accurate voter accreditation,” she said.
Assuring the public of a smooth process, she emphasized LASIEC’s commitment to a peaceful, credible, and transparent election. “We are leaving no stone unturned. Everything humanly possible has been done to guarantee a violence-free exercise,” she noted.
Justice Okikiolu-Ighile also urged political actors to uphold democratic values and conduct themselves peacefully, while reiterating that LASIEC remains non-partisan and will not tolerate electoral malpractice or violence.
In terms of logistics, she explained that sensitive materials would be distributed to all councils on the eve of the election, under tight supervision by security agencies and political party agents. Non-sensitive materials, she said, had already been dispatched.
Finally, she noted that while councillorship results will be collated at the ward level, chairmanship results will be gathered and announced at the local government collation centres.
As Lagosians prepare to head to the polls, all eyes are now on LASIEC to deliver on its promise of a credible election using its new accreditation method.
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