The local government election holds in Ekiti State today with strong indications showing that the poll may record a low turnout of voters.
The election is expected to be conducted to fill the 16 chairmanship and 177 councillorship seats up for grabs.
Political parties fielding candidates in the election, according to the State Independent Electoral Commission (SIEC), are African Peoples Alliance (APA), KOWA, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Peoples Party of Nigeria (PPN) and United Peoples Party (UPP).
Over 5,000 policemen have been mobilized to provide security during the local government poll.
The police spokesman, Alberto Adeyemi, said officers to be deployed for election duty will work with other security agencies.
He said the police had mapped out strategies to prevent breakdown of law and order urging members of the public to be law abiding.
This is the first time in seven years that the council election will be conducted as the last one held took place on December 20, 2008 during the Segun Oni administration.
The Kayode Fayemi administration attempted to conduct council poll on February 4, 2011 but it was stopped by a court injunction secured by PDP which restrained the then SIEC board from going ahead with the poll.
But indications emerged on Friday that voter apathy could be recorded today at polling booths where the electorate are expected.
Many civil servants, teachers, local government workers, artisans and market women who form the bulk of the voting population said voting at the council poll is not compulsory for them unlike last year’s governorship poll.
A civil servant, Paul Arowosafe, said many of them are still owed two-month arrears of salaries and “the morale is still low” hence, their lack of interest in the council poll.
“My brother, local government election is not a priority for me and my family now because there is no money in town and we are still being owed salaries.
“Although some workers received alerts on Wednesday for their October salaries, many of us are yet to receive alerts and you cannot tell a hungry person to go out and vote.”
A market woman, Mrs. Eniola Olofinlade, said she is yet to recover from the demolition of her shop at the Erekesan Market and is presently displaced and won’t vote at the local government election.
She said: “I am not voting at the election because there is no motivation to do so, it is somebody who has eaten to satisfaction that will be interested in election.
“I can’t find my customers again and I am trying to pick up the pieces of my life. Let them go on with their election but somebody like me will not go out that day.”