The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says 1,906,390 registered voters in Osun State have collected their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) ahead of Saturday’s governorship election in the state.
INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education, Mr. Mohammed Haruna, who disclosed this in a statement on Thursday in Abuja said that the figure represented 81.50 per cent of the total 2,339,233 registered voters in the state.
He said 432,843, representing 18.50 per cent of the total, had yet to collect their PVCs.
According to him, the uncollected PVCs have been safely deposited with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in line with INEC’s established practice.
“Persons whose PVCs were damaged, defaced or lost applied for replacement of cards,” he said.
Haruna disclosed that 6,101 voters had applied for and obtained printed downloadable copies of their PVCs.
He said the commission had published on its website the number of PVCs collected in each polling unit.
The national commissioner reassured political parties, civil society organisations, the media and voters of INEC’s readiness to conduct credible and transparent election on Saturday.
Meanwhile, INEC on Thursday night commenced the distribution of non-sensitive materials to the 30 local government areas of the state ahead of Saturday’s governorship election.
The materials were distributed under the supervision of the Osun State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mrs Oluwatoyin Babalola.
The distribution had earlier been delayed following a Federal High Court judgment directing INEC to include the Social Democratic Party (SDP) on the ballot.
The SDP was subsequently added to the list of the 14 political parties for which ballot papers had earlier been printed.
As of 11:30p.m., buses deployed for the exercise were leaving the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) premises in Osogbo for their assigned local government areas.
Addressing journalists, Mr Umar Mohammed, Senior Programme Manager, Kimpat Development Initiative, a non-governmental organisation, described the distribution and arrival of the materials as encouraging.
“It is a very good thing that the materials arrived today. Hopefully, by the time INEC finishes sorting, they will distribute them to all the local governments,” he said.
Mohammed said there had initially been concerns that the court ruling could affect the election timetable.
He explained that INEC had to print additional ballot papers and result sheets following the court order.
“We were worried after the court pronouncement, which led to the addition of SDP to the ballot. This created a logistical challenge for INEC.
“We felt it could affect the election and probably lead to a call for postponement, but it is good that the materials have arrived,” he said.
He commended INEC’s deployment strategy, saying the commission appeared to be prioritising local governments considered distant and difficult to access.
Mohammed, however, expressed concern that rainfall could disrupt the distribution of election materials.
“I pray it does not rain because the dark clouds are already gathering, rainfall could make the distribution of election materials difficult,” he said. (NAN)
