A-Ibom to conduct LG polls in November

By Dennis Udoma

UYO—Akwa Ibom State Electoral Commission, AKISIEC, has said that it will conduct local government elections in the state on November 11, this year.

Chairman of the commission, Mrs. Gloria Ukpong, disclosed this at a meeting yesterday with Chairmen of all registered political parties in the state.

The move to conduct the election, sources said, is due to intense pressure by the political elites in the state on  Governor Udom Emmanuel to hold the elections.

It will be recalled that the governor since assuming office in 2015 has been running the local councils in the state with caretaker committees.

Ukpong said that the meeting with the political parties was to set the tone for the forthcoming council  elections and warned them to conduct their party primaries transparently so that, acceptable candidates would emerge for the elections.

Mrs. Ukpong said, as potent political actors in the electoral process, there was need to realise that, grassroots elections are as important as national elections, hence, party primaries must be conducted in line with best practices and internationally accepted standards.

According to her, “We expect the different political parties to conduct transparent primaries so that, the best acceptable candidates emerge for the eventual elections.  Democracy also allows consensus nomination of candidates provided it is done transparently and the emerging candidates are accepted by the people.”

She emphasize that, the eligibility and credibility of candidates produced by political parties and, the processes leading to their nominations to a large extent, has significant implications on the ultimate outcome of elections and effective representation in general.

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