The Resident Electoral Commission (REC), Edo State, Hon. Obo Effanga, has over 1.9 million persons have collected their Permanent Voter Cards, representing 79.8 percent.
Obo Effanga disclosed this while addressing journalists on the preparedness of the commission ahead of the general elections in the country, Benin City, Edo state.
He said the Commission was not expected to see any figure above the number of those who collected their PVCs adding that anything above that would amount to nullity.
“The total number of registered voters in Edo State going into these elections is 2,501,081 persons that are registered to vote in Edo State.
“However, the total number of PVCs collected is one million, nine hundred and ninety six thousand and eighty eight, which means that 79.8% (percent) of those who are registered in Edo State, their cards are right with them.
“So if we want to have election, we don’t expect to have more than this number of persons as votes,” Effanga said.
According to him, a large number of those who registered in 2021-2022, about 75 percent of them, have since collected their PVCs.
“The number of uncollected PVCs is 584,993 but let me quickly add that the bulk of this five hundred and four thousand nine hundred ninety three, are people who registered between 2010-2011to vote in the 2011 elections up to those who registered to vote in the 2019 elections and as a matter of fact, more than 399,000 of this 504,993 are from that era.
“So, for those who registered in this last registration exercise 2021-2022, quite a large number of them, I think about 75 percent of those cards have been collected”, Effanga explained.
Explaining that 4,519 polling units are in the 18 local government areas of the state, the REC said 850 polling units are affected by voter migrations just as he said that 96 polling units will have more than one Bimodel Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) in order to accommodate the large number of prospective voters.
Obo then warned those who have no voters cards to stay clear of the polling units on the day of election.
