By Adeyinka Adeniran
Ahead of the April 27th local government elections in the state, the Oyo State Independent Electoral Commissioner (OYSIEC School) has disclosed that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is yet to grant its request for the use of Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) for the election.
The state electoral umpire said Oyo state is the first in the federation to request for the use of BVAS, from the INEC for its local government election coming up on April 27, 2024.
The Chairman, OYSIEC, Aare Isiaka Olagunju, made the disclosure during a visit to the state Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Prince Dotun Oyelade.
According to Aare Olagunju, OYSIEC will go to any length to ensure transparency while assuring members of Inter-Party Advisory Council, (IPAC) and the electorate that all eligible votes will count in the April 27, 2024 local government election.
He said unlike that of 2021 where there was boycott by major political parties, all the 19 political parties are participating this time.
The OYSIEC Chairman said 6,390 polling units are on ground for the council poll.
On the recruitment of ad-hoc staff for the election, Aare Olagunju disclosed that 38,370 candidates applied for various ad-hoc positions following the application process which run from 31st of January 2024 through 15th February 2024.
He said the minimum qualification for Assistant Presiding Officer in this year’s election is OND or NCE instead of Secondary School Leaving Certification required in the last election.
He stated that all applications are currently being reviewed to select competent and credible ad-hoc staff.
He said, “There is a situation room for the election where all issues on the day of election will be looked into; a platform similar to that of INEC Results Viewing, (IReV), which provides information to aid election transparency, as results are being uploaded from the polling units.”
Aare Olagunju further called on election managers, political parties, voters and security agencies to work together with OYSIEC to stand against whoever breaches electoral laws for a credible election.
He assures that OYSIEC is in liaison with the security agencies to give maximum cooperation before, during and after the election.
The OYSIEC Chairman said, although OYSIEC is not eligible to register voters, the INEC voters registration list of May 2023 will be deployed for this year’s local government election, noting that anyone who has not been registered to vote by INEC will not be able to participate in the local government election as only the National Voter’s Card will qualify voters for the election.
