‘Why We Postponed Kaduna LG Elections’

BY AMOS TAUNA, KADUNA – Chairman of the Kaduna State Independent Electoral Commission, SIECOM, Dr. Saratu Dikko, said the postponement of the Chairman and Councillors local government elections is on the need to amend some portions of the electoral law to allow e-voting.

Speaking at a meeting with political parties and civil societies at the commission’s head office on Monday in Kaduna, she said, “It is impossible for local government election to hold in Kaduna State this year, but hopefully by next year.”
She explained that the need to conduct a free, fair and credible election necessitated the introduction of the e-voting, which if achieved, would be a model to emulate in the country.

“For now we would do the sensitization at wards and local government areas with materials that will teach the electorate how e-voting works. We apologize to Kaduna people for the postponement.
“It was not intentional but they should be rest assured that there votes will count under the e-voting system,” she said.

Dikko-Audu explained that before announcing the date for the election, they had anticipated the amendment of the law would have been done and assented to by Governor Nasir el-Rufai.

“SIECOM is independent of interference, but we operate within the laws of the land. The existing law doesn’t allow us to use e-voting, unless there is an amendment of existing law and assented to,” she added.

On when the elections would now hold, she explained that it solely lies on the state House of Assembly, while assuring that as soon as that was done, the elections would be held.

Representatives of political parties who spoke separately, queried the commission’s decision to postpone the elections, wondering why they did not wait before announcing the date for the elections.