Ahead of the September and November governorship elections in Edo and Ondo states, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, said it would soon resume the Continuous Voter Registration, CVR, exercise in both states to allow eligible voters participate in the elections.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, disclosed this in Abuja, yesterday, at the second regular quarterly consultative meeting with political parties.

He said the Commission has published the final list of candidates for the Edo State governorship election following the conclusion of party primaries and the end of the period for withdrawal and substitution of candidates as provided in the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the election.

According to him, campaigns in public by political parties commenced on Wednesday April 24, 2024 and will end at midnight on Thursday September 19, 2024, that is, 24 hours before the date fixed for the election as provided by law.

Reminding party leaders the need to continue to maintain law and order during the electioneering process and beyond, he said: “As we inch closer to Election Day in Edo State, it is also imperative to remind political parties of the need to adhere strictly to the timeline for the upload of the list of polling and collation agents to the dedicated portal. Doing so will enable the Commission to produce and deliver the identity cards in good time for the expected 76,823 Polling Unit agents and 3,587 Ward, Local Government and State collation agents for the 17 political parties participating in the election.”

For Ondo State, he said 18 political parties had concluded their primaries, which the INEC monitored, adding: “I wish to remind you that parties have one week to the deadline for the nomination of candidates which is 6pm on Monday May 20 2024 when the portal automatically shuts down.

“I urge you to adhere strictly to the deadline. Political parties have been given 23 days (over three weeks) from the end of primaries to prepare and submit the list of only two candidates (Governorship candidate and running mate) to the Commission. There will be no extension of time.”

“As the elections in the two states approach, the Commission has decided to resume the Continuous Voter Registration in the two states to enable eligible citizens who are not registered voters to do so.

“Similarly, those who are registered voters also have the opportunity to transfer their registration from other states of the federation to Edo and Ondo states or from one location to another within the two states. Let me reiterate that the CVR is only open to new registrants and those who seek to transfer their registration. Persons who are registered as voters should not attempt to register again as double or multiple registration is illegal. Lost or damaged voters’ cards will be replaced during the exercise but this does require fresh registration. The CVR in Edo and Ondo states will take place simultaneously from Monday 27th May 2024 to Wednesday 5th June 2024 from 9.00am to 3.00pm daily including the weekend.

“Taking into consideration the limited time to the governorship elections, the commission has decided to conduct the registration at Ward level and our State headquarters instead of our Local Government offices and a few designated centres as was the case in the past. This means that there will be 192 Ward registration centres in Edo State and 203 centres in Ondo State, in addition to our State offices in Benin City and Akure, making a total of 397 walk-in registration centres in the two states”, he added.

Yakubu explained that there will be no online pre-registration option in the two States because of time constraints.

He said each centre will be managed by two officials drawn from the commission’s pool of regular staff and the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC.

“In the next few days, the Commission will commence the training of at least 794 officials for the exercise. The locations of the registration centres as well as other relevant information have been compiled in a detailed 28-page document included in your folders for this meeting. The same information will be uploaded to our website and social media platforms for public information shortly.

“In addition to the registration of voters, the Commission will also make available the uncollected Permanent Voters’ Cards, PVCs, for collection during the CVR. In the coming days, the list of uncollected PVCs will be published in our offices in the two states and simultaneously uploaded to our website. Again, we encourage those who have not collected their PVCs in the two states to seize the opportunity to do so,” Yakubu said.

END.