Ekiti Election: PVC Collection Increases To 76%
Ahead of the Saturday Governorship election, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has recorded a total number of 749,065 collected PVCs representing 76 per cent of the 988,923 registered voters in Ekiti State.
Voter registration was carried out all over the State, including the devolution of the exercise to the 177 Wards across the State. We have printed and delivered the Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) for all valid registrants in Ekiti State and collection of the cards by voters is ongoing stated Chairman, INEC, Professor Mahmood Yakubu who was delighted that many citizens have collected their cards.
The commission also assured us that the collection of PVCs will continue in all the 16 Local Government Area Offices until Thursday 16th June 2022 to allow us one day (i.e. Friday 17th June 2022) for movement to the Registration Area Centres.
The body appealed to all registered voters that are yet to collect their PVCs to seize the opportunity to do so. said it has received several inquiries from citizens who are yet to collect their PVCs and are demanding to know when the collection of cards will be suspended before the election.
Yakubu said the commission is aware of stakeholders’ concerns about the election however assured of the transparency and credibility of the election; and also, its security and peaceful conduct.
“We are taking both issues very seriously. I will speak about our preparations for free, fair, credible, transparent and inclusive elections. I am also glad that the Inspector General of Police, as the head of the lead agency in internal security, is personally here today to address the triple dimensions of securing the process before, during and after the elections.
“The Commission has accredited Polling Agents nominated by political parties for all the 2,445 polling units, 177 Ward collation centres, 16 Local Government Area collation centres and the State Collation Centre where the final declaration of result will be made. As a testimony to the intense national and international interest in the 2022 Ekiti State Governorship Election, 87 observer groups (79 domestic and 8 international) have been accredited to observe the election.
For the election, the commission has also accredited 483 journalists representing 91 media organisations for coverage of the election. were accredited to cover the election.
“The Commission is deploying several assistive devices for Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) to have a more pleasant voting experience on Election Day. Magnifying glasses, Braille Ballot Guide and Posters for voters with hearing conditions will be deployed at the polling unit level in areas of need based on data collected in collaboration with the PwD community. Similarly, our revised Regulations and Guidelines provide for priority to be accorded at polling units to PwDs without waiting in long queues during voting as is the case with elderly people, pregnant women and nursing mothers. He said.
He reassured political parties, candidates and the electorate that the choice of who becomes the next Governor of Ekiti State is entirely in the hands of voters. INEC will not take any action to the advantage or disadvantage of any political party or candidate. Our focus is on the processes and procedures as provided by law.
“The election holding this weekend is historically being the first Governorship election that the Commission will be conducting based on the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 which came into force about four months ago on 25th February 2022. It is also the first election to be conducted based on our revised Regulations and Guidelines anchored on the provisions of the new Electoral Act. We have also revised our Training Manual to reflect the provisions of the new Electoral Act as well as the Regulations and Guidelines. He continued.
“Like every conscientious Nigerian, the Commission is deeply worried by the use of money to induce voters on Election Day. Vote-buying is a threat to our electoral democracy. To discourage the practice, we changed the configuration of our polling units to bring the ballot boxes closer to the voting cubicles and also banned the use of mobile phones and photographic devices by voters while in the voting cubicles.
INEC also intensified our collaboration with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) to deal with both the buyers and the takers under the law, urging all stakeholders to join the Commission in tackling the menace.
“On Election Day, the national headquarters of INEC in Abuja will monitor the election throughout the State. Our Zoom Situation Room will be activated. We are working to ensure that accredited observers and the media are invited to join us at intervals to provide live reports from the field. At the same time, citizens can contact us on our various platforms such as the toll-free INEC Citizens Contact Centre (ICCC) telephone line in addition to our Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts.
Mahmood said the Commission continues to deploy technology in the electoral process both as a matter of practice and a requirement of the law. The Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) will be deployed for voter accreditation and uploading of election results to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal on Election Day.
“The devices have already been configured and charged for the election. Steps have been taken to ensure that the BVAS machines function optimally during voter accreditation based on lessons learnt from the conduct of recent elections. A few weeks ago, a mock accreditation exercise was conducted in polling units across the three Senatorial Districts of Ekiti State. I observed the mock exercise in Ado, Ikere and Irepodun/Ifelodun Local Government Areas.
“We are encouraged by the successful outcome of the exercise. We have also trained enough Registration Area Technical Support (RATECHs) staff and made adequate transportation arrangements for their rapid response in the event of reported glitches on Election Day.
The Commission said it had several engagements with the security agencies at national, State and Local Government levels and also consulted with stakeholders in addition to blessings of Royal Fathers and religious leaders.
Yakubu said all categories of ad-hoc staff to be deployed to the field have been recruited, trained and carefully screened.
“They have delivered all non-sensitive materials for the election. Voter education and sensitisation are ongoing. We have made arrangements for the transportation of personnel and materials to all polling units on Election Day. For more effective supervision of the process, we have deployed four National Commissioners, eight Resident Electoral Commissioners and many senior officials to support our State office here in Ekiti State to deliver credible elections
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