Ahead of the next month off-cyle governorship election in Edo State, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has presented register of voters to registered political parties fielding candidates in the election.
Anugbum Onuoha, Edo State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) presented the soft copy of certified true copy of the register to representatives of the political parties on Tuesday in Benin City.
Political parties’ chairmen, secretaries and designated officials received the voters register from INEC.
Onuoha, however, presented the register to Olumide Akpata, the Labour Party (LP) governorship candidate as a result of the leadership crisis rocking the party in the State.
Recall that the party is polarized in Kelly Ogbaloi and Elizabeth Ativie-led executives.
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He said the presentation of the register of voters to political parties was in line with the relevant sections of the Electoral Act that mandated the Commission to within 30 days to the election, present the voters register to political parties.
On her part, Rhoda Gamus, the National INEC Commissioner, supervising Edo, Delta, and Bayelsa State said a total of 2, 629,025 voters registered for the governorship election in the state.
Gamus, said the presentation of the voters register was the 10th scheduled of the Commission’s preparedness for the election.
She, however, urged the leadership of political parties to mobilize their supporters to collect their Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) as they mobilized them during the Continuous Voters Registration Exercise in the state.
The INEC Commissioner assured that INEC would do the needful in line with the Electoral Act to conduct credible, fair and free election.
She added that without PVCs electorate would not vote.
Olatunde Olalere, Director, of Voter Registry, while giving an analysis of the register of voters, said a total of 8,847 transferred PVCs from other states to Edo State.
Olalere said 109 voters transferred PVCs from Edo to Ondo State while 54, 202 voters registered more than one.
While giving analysis of local government registration, he added that Ikpoba Okha and Oredo Local Governments had the highest numbers of voters while Igueben Local Government has the lowest figure.
On the gender analysis, he said, male has a figure of 1,370,061 while the female has 1,258, 964 voters.
He also added that a total of 4,199 Persons with Disabilities,PWDs, registered while occupational basis youths have the highest figure of 864,764.
