The local government election in Akwa Ibom State will hold on Saturday, November 11, 2017.
The election will see candidates of the different parties contest for the chairmanship and councillorship seats in the 31 local government councils in the state.
The chairman of the Akwa Ibom State Independent Electoral Commission, Mrs. Gloria Ukpong, disclosed this at the end of a meeting with chairmen and secretaries of all registered political parties in the state She said the meeting was to set the tone for the forthcoming Local Government elections in the state.
Her words: “The purpose of this meeting is to adequately explore some salient issues proceeding Local Government Elections in the State, especially as it relates to the succesful conduct of primaries and the process of nominations by political parties.”
He also spoke of the need to conduct party primaries transparently so that acceptable candidates could emerge for the actual elections.
Mrs. Ukpong added that as potent political actors in the electoral process, there was need for the party leaders to realise that grassroots elections were as important as national elections.
She said the party primaries should therefore be conducted in line with best practices and internationally accepted standards devoid of violence and discriminations.
‘‘Democracy also allows consensus nomination of candidates; provided it’s done transparently and the emerging candidates are accepted by the people,’’ she said.
The AKISIEC boss used the occasion to emphasize that the eligibility and credibility of candidates produced by political parties and the processes leading to their nominations to a large extent, had significant implications on the ultimate outcome of elections and effective representation in general.
She reminded the party leaders to be conscious of the extant laws, guidelines and principles governing the conduct of such exercise.
She said that once that was achieved, “our democratic environment would be greatly enhanced and a transparent electoral system would be established.”
