Commission Mulls Plateau State Electoral Law Amendment
Plateau State Independent Electoral Commission, PLASIEC, says it is working on amendment of the state electoral law, to ensure conduct of credible local government elections.
PLASIEC’s Chairman, Planji Cishak, made this known in Wase Local Government Area, LGA at the commencement of a NEEDS assessment tour of the 17 LGAs of the state.
Proposed Bill
The Chairman said the PLASIEC legal committee was working on a proposed bill to amend the commission’s law of 2017, to align with the Electoral Act of 2022.
“As of now, the work is 80 per cent complete, and as soon as it is completed, the bill will be forwarded to the Plateau State House of Assembly for the necessary legislative action.
“The move is to enable PLASIEC to conduct transparent and credible polls that would serve as a reference point for the Plateau people and beyond,” he said.
According to him, the NEEDS assessment tour of the 17 local government areas was part of PLASIEC’s preparation for the forthcoming local government elections in the state.
Cishak stated that the tour was to ascertain the level of preparedness of the commission to conduct free, transparent, and credible local government polls.
The chairman thanked Governor Caleb Mutfwang, for carefully selecting members of the commission, and trusting them with the mandate to deliver, in line with global best practices.
He stated that Mutfwang had graciously granted the members a free hand to operate without bias, as stipulated by law.
The various transition implementation committee chairmen, including those of Wase, Kanam, Langtang North, and Langtang South LGAs, lauded the PLASIEC chairman and his team for the steps taken so far to conduct local government elections.
The Chairman, Transition Implementation Committee of Wase LGA, Mr Hamisu Anani, described the visit as most necessary.
According to him, the tour will afford the commission the opportunity to get a practical feel of what is needed to conduct a transparent election.
The visits included stakeholders’ engagement in the local government areas.
The stakeholders that interacted with the PLASIEC team were comprised of traditional rulers, political party leaders, religious leaders, civil society groups, and security agencies.
They pledged their support and commitment to ensuring the commission succeeded in its task.
NAN
