The Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission, LASIEC, has launched a comprehensive post-election review of the 2025 Local Government and Local Council Development Area, LCDA, elections, with a commitment to embedding lessons from the exercise to further consolidate grassroots democracy in the state.
The initiative was unveiled on Tuesday at the start of a two-day strategic retreat held at Dover Hotels, Ikeja.
Speaking at the opening session, the Commission’s Chairman, Justice Bola Okikiolu-Ighile (rtd), said the retreat was intentionally designed to critically assess LASIEC’s performance during the polls and to uncover operational gaps requiring reform.
The retreat, themed “Execution to Evaluation: Building a More Resilient Electoral Process for Lagos State,” is taking place six months after the July 2025 elections, which drew intense public interest and political attention.
Addressing commissioners and electoral officials, Justice Okikiolu-Ighile acknowledged positive assessments from both local and international observers but warned against complacency.
She noted that a truly resilient electoral system is one that continuously evolves, stressing the need for honest self-assessment and institutional learning.
According to her, the Commission must be willing to confront its shortcomings and translate experiences from the elections into enduring reforms.
While admitting that the 2025 polls faced administrative challenges and political pressures, the LASIEC chair maintained that the Commission upheld its neutrality and remained steadfast in safeguarding the will of the electorate.
Offering insight into voter participation, the Commissioner for Training, Oladele Adekanye, disclosed that the 2025 elections witnessed a marked rise in turnout. He said participation stood at 24 per cent, a significant improvement over the 10 to 11 per cent recorded in previous local government elections.
Adekanye described the increase as encouraging and said the retreat would focus on strategies to sustain and build on the progress achieved.
Looking ahead, LASIEC indicated plans to prioritise technology-driven solutions and enhanced capacity building. Justice Okikiolu-Ighile said future elections in Lagos would be shaped by heightened public scrutiny and emerging security realities.
She assured that the Commission would deepen the use of technology, invest in continuous staff training, improve working conditions, and strengthen internal control mechanisms to uphold transparency, credibility and institutional independence.
LASIEC begins post-election audit of 2025 LG polls, vows electoral reforms
