The Independent National Electoral Commission, on Tuesday, said 2,629,025 voters will take part in the September 21 governorship election in Edo State.
INEC’s Supervising National Commissioner for Edo, Delta and Cross River States, Prof. Rhoda Gumus, stated this at the commission’s office in Benin at the presentation of voter registers to the chairmen and representatives of the 16 participating political parties.
Gumus said: “In line with the Electoral Act, 2022, INEC must present the voter registers to the chairmen of the political parties, not later than 30 days to the election. We are trying to obey the law, and carrying out the 10th of the 13 activities scheduled for the Edo governorship election.”
While stressing the need for a peaceful poll, Gumus said, “Election should not be a do-or-die affair. If you do not win today, you may win tomorrow. Problems always erupt on election day. Politicians and their supporters in Edo State should eschew violence.
“INEC is ready for the governorship election in Edo State. We want the stakeholders to cooperate with the electoral commission to make the activities before, during and after the election to be seamless. I am giving an assurance that with the support of the security agencies, the election will be peaceful, free and fair.”
The supervising national commissioner also urged Edo residents and other Nigerians to be proud of their motherland, and never to allow tribe or tongue to divide them.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner of INEC in Edo, Dr. Anugbum Onuoha, earlier reiterated that 2,501,081 voters were registered in the state for the 2023 general elections, while 173,048 persons were registered during the Continuous Voter Registration from May 27 to June 9, 2024, with 119,206 registrants, including the persons who transferred their PVCs, being valid, thereby bringing the total to 2,501,081 eligible voters.
Onuoha urged the eligible voters to collect their PVCs at their wards’ registration centres between August 22 and 26, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, including the weekend, while the collection would be moved to the local government office of INEC between August 28 and September 8.
The REC said campaigns would stop on September 19, while the governorship election would hold on September 21.
The Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council in Edo, Greg Igbinomwanhia, who is also the state’s Chairman of People’s Redemption Party, commended INEC for carrying out activities of the election without hitch.
Igbinomwanhia added that the September 21 governorship poll in Edo must not just be free and fair, but peaceful.
He urged the leaders and members of the political parties to shun violence so that Governor Godwin Obaseki’s successor would be elected without rancour. a