Ahead of the September 21, 2024, governorship election in Edo State, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) presented the Certified True Copy of the updated Voters Register to political parties for the election.
Dr Anugbum Onuoha, the State Resident Electoral Commissioner of INEC, who made the presentation at the state INEC office in Benin, said that Edo State, going by the updated Voters’ Register, has 2,629, 025 intending voters.
He said that the commission decided to issue the voter register to the political parties for the election in line with the provisions of the Constitution and the Electoral Act of 2022, as amended
Onuoha revealed that prior to the recently announced Continuous Voter’s Registration (CVR) in the state, the total number of registered voters during the 2023 general election in Edo was 2,501,081.
Giving the breakdown of the 2024 updated Voters’ Register in Edo State, the Resident Electoral Commissioner explained that a total of 119, 206 were recorded during the last CVR in the state
Onuoha disclosed that while 8, 847 people transferred their voting centres to Edo State, 109 voters transferred their voting centres out of Edo State.
“In line with Section 10(4) of the Electoral Act, 2022, as amended, today we shall be giving you (political party representatives) the Official Register of Voters in Edo State, and this is the 10th item in the timetable and schedule of activities for Edo State,” he said.
“Recently, we did continuous voter registration and the cards have been printed and given to us. In Edo, we have a total of 119, 206 new registered voters
“In addition, we have 8,847 individuals transferred from their registration centres within the state, as provided by the law. The commission has updated the records of 4,808 voters who applied for correction of names, addresses, and dates of birth from their previous registrations.
“We also replaced the 5,406 lost and damaged PVCs. Put together, 184, 436 voters of various categories were served by the commission during the last CVR in Edo State”, he said
According to the Edo INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, Ikpoba-Okha has the highest number of registered voters with 400,495, closely followed by Oredo Local Government Area with 357,371 voters, while Igueben Local Government Area has the least registered voters with 52,000.
While assuring that the commission is fully prepared for the conduct of the election, Dr Onuoha disclosed that INEC would commence the issuing of the Permanent Voter’s Cards (PVC) registered during the last CVR on August 22, which is expected to end on September 8.
On her part, the INEC National Commissioner in charge of Edo, Delta, and Ondo States, Prof. Rhoda Gamus, said that the commission is committed to conducting free, fair, and credible elections in Edo.
She urged the various political party members to abide by the electoral guidelines for the election, noting that the exercise should not be seen as a do-or-die affair.
She said: “The commission is committed to keeping strictly to the date and details in the timetable and schedule of activities for the 2024 governorship election in Edo State.
“You can recall that the commission published the national register of voters on January 11, 2023, which was used for the conduct of the 2023 general election. The same register cannot be used this time because many people have come of age, and we cannot leave them out.
“That is why, as part of its preparation for the election, the commission conducted the continuous voter registration exercise in Edo State from May 27th, 2024, to June 9th, 2024, in line with Section 9(6) of the 2022 Electoral Act, which permits the commission.”
She revealed that the commission will be conducting a mock accreditation ahead of the election, adding that the date and modalities would be communicated to the people.
However, Dr Onuoha said that the voter register for the election would not be given to a political party with a leadership tussle that is in court.
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