Yiaga Africa Lists 4 Major Problems as Lagos State Holds Local Government Election
- Yiaga Africa has predicted that many Lagosians might not come out to vote as the state holds local government election
- The group blamed this on lack of voters' education on the part of Lagos state electoral body and political parties
- Also, the non-governmental organisation blamed Lagos state electoral body for its inability to communicate adequately with relevant stakeholders
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As Lagos state holds its Local Government Areas (LGAs) and Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) elections, Yiaga Africa, has on Friday, July 23, released its pre-election environment observation.
According to the foremost non-profit and non-governmental organisation, observations have indicated that the election will not be without some issues.
Source: Facebook
It consequently listed the issues at a press conference in Lagos.
- Poor Communication between LASIEC and Stakeholders
Yiaga Africa’s observation shows a major huge communication gap between LASIEC, Civil Society Organizations and other election stakeholders. it claimed that groups who applied for accreditation via the commission’s website as directed waited endlessly for feedback from the commission on the status of the accreditation.
Yiaga said:
"The commission ignored all online applications and requested groups to resubmit hard copy applications to its office barely 24 hours before the elections, which impacted planning for observer deployments."
2. Publication of candidates List and Poor Deployment of Technology:
Yiaga Africa said that even though the Lagos state electoral body announced the release of the list of validated candidates for the chairmanship and councillorship elections, the information is not available on the commission's website for accessibility and scrutiny for observers and other stakeholders. It said the list can only accessed at the headquarters of the commission.
3. Poor Voter Education Campaigns
The group said voter education campaigns by the election stakeholders especially political parties and LASIEC have been poor.
It added:
"The LGA election which is considered closest to the people has not received the intensive grassroots campaign for citizens’ participation in the process."
4. Possible Low Voter Turnout:
Going further, Yiaga Africa said that due to little or no campaigning by political parties participating in the election, low voter mobilization and publicity, there is the possibility of low voter turnout.
Need for young people to have a seat at the table
Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that Yiaga Africa, on Thursday, July 15 hosted key stakeholders and youth groups ahead of the National Assembly public hearing on the Youth Development Commission Bill.
The policy dialogue, think tank meeting attended by a Legit.ng reporter in Abuja was aimed at bringing all stakeholders under one roof to analyse and review the bill.
Speaking at the event, the chairman of the Young Parliamentarians Forum (YPF), Honourable Kabir Ibrahim Tukura urged all participants to contribute their quota to ensure that the Youth Development Commission Bill is a near-perfect document.
Source: Legit.ng
