Plateau State Independent Electoral Commission said it had cleared 725 candidates to contest for chairmanship and councillorship positions in the local government polls in the state scheduled for February 17.

Chairman of the commission, Mr Fabian Ntung, made the disclosure while speaking with newsmen on Tuesday in Jos.

According to Ntung, 48 of the candidates are vying for chairmanship positions in the 17 Local Government Areas of the state, while the rest 677 are candidates for councillorship seats.

“From our records, we have 48 candidates that are seeking election into chairmanship positions in the 17 LGAs of the state.

“While 677 candidates have been cleared to contest for the position of councillors across the 325 electoral wards of the state,” he said.

The chairman expressed optimism that the forthcoming polls would be free and fair, in view of the level of preparations by the electoral umpire.

“Even though preparation is business in progress until the last day of the elections, we want to say emphatically that we are ready for the elections,” Ntung assured.

He commended the support and cooperation rendered by the various political parties in the state and urged them to do more till the end of the entire exercise.

Ntung urged the parties to have confidence in the commission as it was poised toward conducting one of the most credible polls in the history of the state.

(NAN)

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725 candidates cleared by PLASIEC to contest Plateau LG polls