Lagos LG Polls: Yiaga Africa Reveals Key Observations From Exercise
- Yiaga Africa has revealed that there was late deployment of materials for the local government elections in Lagos
- On the brighter side, the organisation said that Election essential materials were adequately deployed
- Meanwhile, it reports that there was no strict compliance with COVID-19 protocol as well as misconduct at the polling units
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Yiaga Africa has released its observations following the just concluded Local Government Areas (LGAs) and Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) elections in Lagos state.
In a statement made available to Legit.ng, the non-governmental organisation listed seven observations concerning the just concluded election.
1. Late opening of polls and deployment of polling materials
As of 8:30 am, Yiaga Africa WTV observers reported that no polling official was seen in 61 of the polling units visited. Late opening and commencement of polls was a general observation across the state.
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2. Polling officials were deployed as expected
Yiaga Africa reports that majority of the polling units visited had an average of 2 polling officials present as stated in the LASIEC election guideline. Also notable is deployment of women as polling officials. At least 1 of 2 polling officials were women.
3. Election essential materials were adequately deployed
Also, Yiaga Africa reports the presence of essential materials such as the register of voters, polling official stamp, voting cubicle, ink pad, ballot boxes, incident form and polling unit booklet in polling units. These materials and many more were seen in most of the polling units that were opened.
4. Deployment of Security personnel
It added that security officers specifically from the Nigerian Police Force and/or NSCDC are present in the majority of the polling units visited.
5. Majority of political parties did not deploy party agents to the polls
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APC and PDP party agents were the only party agents seen in the majority of the polling units visited while other party agents were seen in a few polling units.
6. No strict compliance with COVID-19 Protocol
The organisation observed the provision of Hand Sanitizers and handheld infrared thermometers across the polling units, there was no enforcement on the usage. Polling officials and voters were not adhering to the COVID-19 non-pharmaceutical safety protocol and physical distancing.
7. Misconduct at the Polling Units
Going further, Yiaga Africa observers reported that voters were intimidated, harassed/assaulted in a few polling units during accreditation and voting.
Recall that Legit.ng reported that Yiaga Africaon 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.
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.
Source: Legit.ng
