The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has successfully registered 269,992 new voters in Edo and Ondo states during the recent Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) drive.
This update was provided by Mr. Sam Olumekun, the INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee.
The breakdown of the new registrants shows a gender distribution of 47.87% male (129,246) and 52.13% female (140,756).
A significant portion of these voters are young people aged between 18 and 34, accounting for 67.61% (182,541) of the total.
Additionally, students make up 35.36% (95,463) of the new voters, and Persons with Disability (PWDs) represent 0.59% (1,588).
The commission also received numerous applications for voter-related services, including 24,454 requests for Permanent Voter Card (PVC) replacements, 74,493 voter transfer applications, and 8,314 information update requests.
Mr. Olumekun noted that these figures are preliminary and that the final numbers will be released on a state-by-state basis following the claims/objections period and the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) process.
The commencement date for the collection of new PVCs will be announced in due course.
In compliance with Section 19 of the Electoral Act 2022, INEC will display the preliminary voter register in both states starting Wednesday.
This display, lasting seven days across 395 wards and on the INEC website, allows citizens to identify any ineligible individuals and submit objections using Forms EC2 and EC3, available at registration centers and on the INEC website.
Mr. Olumekun encourages the public to participate in this verification process to aid INEC in maintaining an accurate and lawful voter register.
Following the claims and objections period, the commission will conduct a thorough cleanup of the register with ABIS before integrating the new voters into the existing register for the upcoming elections.
