Monisade Afuye, the deputy governor of Ekiti State, has praised the state for holding the local government election on Saturday without resorting to violence.

Afuye made her disclosure during the Saturday local government election in Ekiti State, which was held at unit 003, Atiba/Aafin Ward, in Ikere Ekiti.

She also praised the high voter turnout that marked the election’s conduct, noting that it represented a notable improvement over the results of the 2021 poll.

The Deputy Governor, who apparently voted at 9:32 a.m., made note of the fact that the party’s primary local government election was more competitive due to the financial independence that the councils under Governor Biodun Oyebanji’s leadership had.

She commended the electorate in Ikere Local Government Area and throughout the state for actively participating in the LG poll, demonstrating their confidence and faith in the electoral process.

Afuye also praised the SIEC, which is headed by Justice Cornelius Akintayo, for introducing openness and transparency to the third-tier government election process.

“Going by what we have seen and information across the state, the process has been adjudged peaceful and transparent.

“The SIEC officials and observers were on ground in time and that further propelled the voters to come out to cast their votes for their preferred candidates. This is highly commendable.

“The atmosphere was serene and voters were not being coerced to vote for a particular candidate. They are given the freedom to vote for candidates of their choice; that is the beauty of democracy.

“With all these, those who will emerge in today’s election will know that they will be there to serve the people so that our people can become more interested in participating in elections, especially the local government poll,” she stressed.

Afuye thanked the security agencies for their crucial roles in the election, expressing confidence that the poll will succeed.