The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has appealed to electorate in Edo State to go and collect their Permanent Voters Cards (PVs), stating that barely 29 days to the presidential election 570,839 PVCs were yet to be collected.
The state electoral umpire’s Administrative Secretary, Dr Richard Ntui, disclosed during an interactive session in Benin City with traditional rulers from the three senatorial districts of the state.
Dr. Ntui said the total number of registered voters in the state is now stands at 2,210,534 after the conclusion of the continuous voters register on August 31st 2018.
“we are hopeful that more of this balance will be collected before the election as our staff in the local government areas, are in the Registration Areas and wards for the collection of PVC exercise”, he said.
Also speaking, the INEC National Commissioner, Mrs May Agbamuche-Mbu, said the Commission was prepared for the election and also informed the monarchs efforts the Commission was putting in place to check the rising menace of vote-buying.
“The Commission has responded to the menace in three ways. Firstly, we altered the configuration of our polling Units by moving the ballot boxes closer to the voting cubicles in order to make it difficult for voters to expose their marked ballot papers.
“Secondly, we have introduced a partial ban on the use of mobile phones and other photographic devices by voters while in the voting cubicles. Thirdly, we are introducing the rolling and flattening of ballot papers by voters before putting them into the ballot boxes”, she said.
Meanwhile, the traditional rulers frowned at the use of soldiers some who they said move in unmarked vehicles and without name tags.
They also expressed fears that the number of political parties numbering 91 could create confusion for the electorates especially the illiterate ones on election and called on INEC for more voters’ education.
