Ahead of the July 22, 2017 council election, the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) has released the list of verified chairmanship and councillorship candidates in the 57 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs).
This has put paid to the apprehension caused by delay in releasing the list.
A statement by its Director, Public Affairs, Oladapo Olatunde, yesterday said the move was in line with its statutory responsibilities, as it had requested all the candidates to appear before it for validation.
“A total of 12 political parties presented candidates for the election. They are: the Accord Party (AP), Action Alliance (AA), Alliance for Democracy (AD), APC, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP) and All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).
Others are United Democratic Party (UDP), United Progressive Party (UPP), Kowa Party (KP), National Action Council (NAC) and Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM).
He disclosed that the list has been displayed at the Yaba, Lagos office of the commission for the observation of candidates and interested members of the public.
Meanwhile, the commission has commenced a three-day Trainer of Trainers Course for Electoral Officers in the 57 LCDAs in preparations for the poll.
The course, facilitated by International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), was designed as a master–trainer programme where the participants are expected to train all the ad-hoc personnel who would be engaged for the exercise.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Chairman of the Commission, Justice Ayotunde Phillips, urged participants to take advantage of the course and demonstrate an open mind to learning and change to enhance the electoral process at the council level.
Phillips commended IFES for its support for the commission, particularly with regard to training and capacity development of its personnel to enable them internalize international best practices in election administration and management.