Ahead of the governorship election in Ondo State, the Independent National Electoral Commission said on Wednesday that it has suspended the registration of new voters ahead of the election.
INEC also said a total of 372,888 Permanent Voter Cards had yet to be collected in the state.
INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state, Dr Rufus Akeju, stated this during a stakeholders’ meeting at the state headquarters of the commission, in Akure, the state capital.
During the meeting, the publication of “Notice of Election”, was extensively deliberated upon with the REC also saying preparations for the forthcoming governorship election were ongoing.
Akeju said Continuous Voters Registration had been discontinued and distribution of Permanent Voter Cards in the state suspended.
“It is extremely important for me to inform you that the commission has suspended the Continuous Voter Registration exercise and the implication is that, the window of opportunity for new registrants, distribution of Permanent Voter Cards, transfer of registration and replacement of lost or defaced PVCs have been shut for the meantime owing to the ravaging pandemic,” he said.
Giving the breakdown, the REC said the number of registered voters in the state was 1,822 346 while “a total of 1,478,460 of PVCs have been collected and the number of uncollected PVCs is 372,888.”
He also disclosed that INEC had produced a booklet containing operational guidelines for the conduct of the election in line with the current reality of COVID-19 pandemic ravaging the world.
He assured that INEC would be fair in the October poll, adding that security operatives for the conduct of the election would undergo special training.