The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said on Monday, August 19, that it will not allow proxy collection of Permanent Voters Cards ahead of the Edo governorship elections scheduled for September 21.
The chairman of the commission, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, who disclosed this at a meeting to state Resident Electoral Commissioners said the refusal of proxy collection is to ensure that the cards do not end up in the wrong hands.
He also said that the register of voters for the Edo governorship election will be presented to representatives of political parties participating in the election on Tuesday, August 20 at the INEC headquarters in Benin.
He said: “It is important to emphasise that the Commission’s policy that PVCs must be personally collected by registered voters has not changed.
“The cards will not be distributed or collected by proxy so that they do not end up in the wrong hands. We urge voters who took their time to register during the CVR to also take time to collect their PVCs in person and, most importantly, to come out on Election Day and vote for the party of their choice.
“Still as part of our preparations for the Edo State Governorship election, the softcopy of the final and comprehensive register of voters will be presented to each political party fielding candidates in the election tomorrow Tuesday 20th August 2024 in our State office in Benin City.
“This is in fulfilment of item 10 of the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the election.
Aside from the Edo and Ondo State governorship elections, Yakubu said there are pending bye-elections to fill seven vacancies in the National and State Assemblies across six States of the Federation.
H said: “Following the conclusion of the last Continuous Voters Registration CVR) in Edo and Ondo States, the Commission published the figures of new registrants for the two States following the clean-up of the register.
“For Edo State, 119,206 new voters were registered. In addition, 8,847 voters transferred their registration from other States of the Federation to Edo State while 46,171 voters transferred their registration within the State i.e. from one part of the State to another.
“As provided by law, the Commission has updated the records of 4,808 voters that applied for correction of names, addresses or dates of birth from previous registrations and also replaced 5,406 lost or damaged PVCs.
“Put together, 184,438 voters of various categories were served by the Commission during the last CVR in Edo State. They will be issued new voters’ cards (PVCs).
“I am glad to report that all the cards have been printed and delivered to our office in Benin City. From there, they have been handed over to our Electoral Officers (EOs) for collection by voters.
“To ensure a seamless process, the cards will be available for collection in all the 192 Wards in the State where the last CVR took place from Thursday 22nd August 2024 to Monday 26th August 2024 from 9.00 am to 5.00 pm daily including the weekend.
“Thereafter, the collection will continue in our 18 Local Government offices across the State from Wednesday 28th August 2024 to Sunday 8th September 2024 from 9.00 am to 5.00 pm, including the weekends. Detailed information on the dates and locations of the 210 centres (192 Wards and 18 LGA offices) has been uploaded to our website and social media platforms for public information.
“Furthermore, the Commission has developed a register containing, among other information, the names and photographs of the 184,438 voters to ease the collection of their PVCs. The register has also been uploaded to our website to facilitate easy identification and collection of the cards”.
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He disclosed: “The Commission is working on the schedule for the collection of PVCs in Ondo State. Our attention is focused on the Edo State at the moment because the election is holding next month.
“I want to assure the electorate in Ondo State that action is being taken in respect of the availability of their PVCs for the governorship election holding in November this year. Very soon, the Commission will make available detailed arrangements for the collection of PVCs for all categories of voters from the recent CVR in the State.
He asleep media organisations seeking to cover the Edo State Governorship election to take advantage of the portal to upload particulars of their representative as the closes at 6.00 pm on Thursday 5th September 2024.
He said: “As of this morning, 63 organisations have uploaded the details of 584 personnel for accreditation for the election. We urge all interested organisations that are yet to apply to note the deadline and act accordingly.
“Already, the Commission has published the final list of candidates, accredited observers as well as polling and collation agents. At the end of the deadline for media accreditation, the list of organisations and accredited personnel will also be published for public information”.