Esther Salifu
The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has called on Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to intensify their advocacy for peaceful elections in Ondo State, ahead of the November 16 governorship election .
Speaking at the fourth quarterly consultative meeting with CSOs in Abuja, Yakubu commended the organizations for their support in mobilizing voters to collect their Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs). He noted that 64,273 PVCs were collected out of 89,777 delivered to the state, representing a 71.6% collection rate.
“A total 64,273 PVCs were collected by voters out of the 89,777 cards delivered to the State. This represents an impressive collection rate of 71.6%. I want to appreciate the CSOs that helped to mobilise registered voters to collect their cards”.
He further stated that “In the next few days, the Commission will upload to our website the
cumulative figure of all PVCs collected in each of the 3,933 Polling Units across “.
Yakubu highlighted improvements in voter accreditation, result upload to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal, observer and media accreditation, and voter education efforts. He also announced a mock accreditation exercise on November 6 to test the commission’s preparedness.
“We will continue to welcome your comments and suggestions, particularly where they are specific and backed by verifiable and actionable evidence,” Yakubu said.
The INEC chairman also reminded CSOs to submit reports on the Edo governorship election and comply with the commission’s rules of engagement for accredited election observers.
