Kaduna fixes LG polls on May 12, gets SIECOM commissioner

The Kaduna State Independent Electoral Commission (KADSIECOM) has fixed May 12,2018 for local government elections following the passage of the bill by the House of Assembly to allow use of electronic machines for voting.

The election was earlier scheduled to hold in December 2017 but was cancelled due to legislative challenges and non-passage of the bill.

The chairman of the commission, Dr Saratu Binta Dikko-Audu, while addressing political parties and relevant stakeholders in Kaduna yesterday, said all was set for the election.

She said, “You are already aware that we shall be using Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) and the smart card readers in the conduct of these elections. All citizens who have been issued the INEC Permanent Voters Cards (PVC) shall be eligible to participate in the election.

“Electioneering campaigns by political parties and candidates are by this notice authorised to begin. Party primaries may be organized as from February 20 until March 27, 2018 with the campaigns ending at midnight of May 11, 2018. She said each chairmanship candidate would be expected to pay N200,000 while councilors would pay N50,000 to be financially eligible to contest.

Meanwhile, the House of Assembly has confirmed Alhaji Ibrahim Sambo as the Permanent Commissioner for the State Independent Electoral Commission (SIECOM). This followed a letter from Governor Nasir Ahmed El-Rufai dated January 30, 2018 addressed to the Speaker of the House, Alhaji Aminu Shagali, requesting the approval.

The Speaker, who presided over the screening, urged the appointee to endeavour to conduct free and fair local government elections slated for May 2018.