‘867, 088 electorate to vote’

THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says 867, 088 eligible voters are expected to vote in the November 16 governorship election in Bayelsa State.

INEC National Commissioner supervising elections in Bayelsa, Edo and Rivers State Mrs. May Agbamuche-Mbu disclosed this on Monday in Yenagoa at the official presentation of the voter register to the 45 parties contesting in the election.

Agbamuche-Mbu, who presented soft copies of the register to the parties, said that the document revealed the number of registered voters by polling unit, registration area, local government areas and state.

“This is to enable eligible voters check their details and know the location of their polling units,” she added.

On appointment of party agents, the commissioner enjoined parties to submit names of their agents not later than 14 days before the election.

“Submit the names of your party agents on or before November 2, as the commission will not extend the deadline for submission,” Agbamuche-Mbu said.

INEC’s National Director, Voter Registry, Mr. Iro Gambo, said although 923, 182 voters were registered in Bayelsa at the end of the 2017 and 2018 Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise, only 867, 088 voters collected their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).

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Gambo, represented by Mr. Paul Ayaeze, the deputy director, Voter Registry, said that the PVCs were made available for collection during the nationwide CVR exercise at all local governments in the state between April 2017 and August 2018.

“In all, the number of uncollected PVCs are 33, 974,” the director said.

Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) Mr. Monday Udoh restated the commission’s readiness to conduct a free, fair and credible election.