Ahead of the September 10, 2016 governorship election in Edo State, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has said that 490,000 Permanent Voter Cards of eligible voters have not be collected in the state.
The number, the INEC pointed out, represents 30 per cent of the registered voters in the state.
Speaking yesterday in Benin City, the state capital, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Edo, Sam Olumekun, told reporters that the electoral umpire had not begun the registration of new voters who just attained 18 years.
This is just as he said he was committed to the conduct of a credible election in the state, adding that the Card Reader would be used in the forthcoming governorship election.
According to Mr. Olumekun, INEC has developed a road map for the conduct of a successful poll, which everyone will accept for its transparency.
The REC disclosed that nine political parties had indicated interest to participate in the election, out of the 20 active parties in the state.
He said: “We are using the e-collation system. The collation will be transparent. As we are collating in the wards, Abuja will be receiving it. Whoever plans to dismiss the collation of result will be disappointed”.
