The Chairman of the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC ), Hon. Justice Ayotunde Phillips(rtd) Tuesday charged registered voters who have not collected their Permanent Voter Cards to do so immediately to enable them cast their votes in the forthcoming elections into the 57 Local Governments and Local Council Development Areas of the state.
Phillips who made the call while speaking at the Civic Populace Stakeholders’ forum organised as part of the continuous civic education programme of the Commission , reminded eligible voters who are yet to register to ensure that they get registered with the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC ).
According to her, INEC is the only agency empowered by the constitution to compile the register of voters throughout the country, adding that the commission had received the soft copy of the register of voters for the State from the Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC ).
She said the commission had already started printing the register in preparation for the next election, expressing dissatisfaction over the increasing rate of voter apathy to the electoral process not only at the Local Government level, but also at the State and national levels.
Philips stressed the need for all hands to be on deck to reverse the unacceptable trend so that the electoral process could be more participatory and representative.
She also noted that electoral violence could scare people away and force them to lose interest in the political process not only at the Local Government level , but also at the other levels of government.
The Chairman noted that the problems of voter apathy and electoral violence could be brought under effective control if the Civic populace stakeholders could collaborate with the Commission in its campaign to curb the unacceptable development.
She assured that the Commission was working tirelessly to ensure that every challenge that could constitute a threat and impede the successful conduct of elections into the 20 Local Governments and 37 Local Council Development Areas of the State was removed.