The Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) has cleared 12 parties for the July 22 local government election, it said yesterday.
Its Director of Publicity, Dapo Olatunde said in a statement that the parties met its requirements for the poll.
They were among the 23 parties that signified interest in the election.
The parties are the All Progressives Congress (APC), Action Alliance (AA), Alliance for Democracy (AD), Labour Party (LP), All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Accord Party, Kowa Party, National Action Council (NAC), People’s Democratic Movement (PDM), United Democratic Party (UDP) and United Progressive Party (UPP).
Olatunde said the names of qualified candidates had been displayed at the commission’s headquarters.
The commission, Olatunde added, has begun a three-day “Train -the-Trainer” course for its electoral officers across the 20 local government areas and 37 local council development areas.
According to him, the training, facilitated by the International Foundation for Electoral System (IFES), is to equip ad-hoc staff engaged for the election.
IFES is a United States-based organisation committed to the deepening of democracy and international best standards in election management.
The organisation operates in more than 100 countries and is supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Meanwhile, House of Representatives member, Bolaji Yusuf (Mushin II federal constituency) and former federal lawmaker, Senator Ganiyu Solomon have urged politicians to eschew violence during the forthcoming local government poll.
They and other stakeholders from Mushin Local Government Area (LGA) spoke at the weekend during the annual lecture of A+Vanguard held in Mushin..
Lead speaker Dr. Ferdinald Ottoh, in his paper, titled: “Towards violence-free election in Lagos: A post-mortem of June 12, 1993 election,” said key actors in political system must unite to avert violence.
He urged media houses to help consolidate grassroots election by publishing free, fair and balanced reports of unfolding events.
Ottoh, a University of Lagos teacher, charged the Lagos Independent Electoral Commission, (LASIEC) and the police to ensure that the electoral code of conduct is applied on any political party that foments trouble before, during and after the election.
According to him, if violence must be prevented, LASIEC must ensure that results of the election are released at least 24 hours after the poll, while the government must be ready to deal with perpetrators of violence.
Yusuf, who appealed for calm during the poll, warned that violence would take the state nowhere.
Solomon called on party members to embrace peace and work for the interest of the All Progressive Congress (APC).
Coordinator, A+Vanguard, Oyeyemi Ayoola said the topic of the lecture was apt as the council poll draws near.