The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it had concluded the Continuous Voters Registration exercise ahead of the Ondo State governorship election slated for November 16, 2024.
The commission disclosed that a total of 2,053,061 registered voters would participate in the forthcoming governorship poll.
The state’s Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Babalola, disclosed this at the state’s commission headquarters in Akure, the state capital, on Saturday, while speaking on the preparation for the election.
She said, “The INEC has concluded the Continuous Voter Registration exercise, which saw a significant increase in registered voters across the state. After the successful conclusion of the CVR exercise, 58,708 new voters were registered. In addition, 3,132 voters transferred their registrations into Ondo State while 123 voters transferred their registration out of Ondo State. The harmonised total number of new registered voters with the old registered voters is now 2,053,061.
“From the above information, it is well established that the registration exercise was inclusive, transparent, and accessible to all eligible citizens, including marginalized groups such as women, youth and persons with disabilities.
“As we await the commencement of the distribution of Permanent Voter Cards from the CVR exercise, we urge all registered voters in the previous registration exercise who are yet to collect their PVCs to do so, as this process is ongoing at our LGA offices. We shall simplify the collection process and establish PVC collection centres.”
Babalola, who further expressed the readiness of the electoral body, further disclosed that the commission had received a large percentage of sensitive materials for the November poll which had been distributed to all the 18 Local Government Areas of the state, adding that 16 political parties would be participating in the election.
“I am pleased to inform you that a large percentage of the non-sensitive election materials required for the election have been received and deployed to the 18 Local Government offices, where they are batched to RAs and PUs levels. We are working closely with the relevant security agencies and stakeholders to ensure the safe storage and timely distribution of these materials on the eve of the election,” the REC stated.
She added that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System would be available at the 3,933 polling centres across the state during the election, saying, “This system will also transmit polling unit results directly to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV), enabling greater transparency and real-time access to election results by the public.”
She urged the security agencies to collaborate with the commission in ensuring a secure environment for all the election stakeholders and also appealed to the people to be law-abiding throughout the election process.
PUNCH
