Edo poll: INEC awaits data from 78 observer groups

The Independent National Electoral Commission, on Tuesday, disclosed that about 1,766 election observers from 78 different observer groups might not be able to monitor the September 21 off-cycle governorship elections in Edo state.

The commission announced that it will soon release the final list of voters and the total number of registered voters for the Edo election.

INEC national chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, disclosed this during a regular quarterly meeting with civil society organisations in preparation for the Edo and Ondo elections.

He said, that as of July 29, 2024, only 56 organisations had uploaded the list of 894 observers to the INEC portal.

INEC national chairman reminded them that the portal for observer accreditation will automatically close at 6:00 pm on Wednesday, July 31.

The commission had previously announced that 134 organisations, consisting of 124 local and 10 international observer groups, applied to monitor the elections in both Edo and Ondo states.

Yakubu said, “It is now 52 days to the Edo State Governorship election coming up on Saturday 21st September 2024. Our preparations are going on in earnest. I am glad to report that we have recovered from the torrential rainfall that resulted in the severe flooding of our State Headquarters in Benin City two months ago.

“The damage to the physical infrastructure as well as movable and immovable facilities are being fixed or replaced. We have delivered additional Bimodal Voter Accreditation System machines to Edo State for the training of election duty personnel as well as contingency for Election Day support.

“We have once again published the final list of candidates in compliance with the recent Court Order mandating the Commission to replace the running mate to the candidate of the Labour Party. The amended list is already published on our website.

“Following the conclusion of the Continuous Voter Registration, the display of the register for claims and objections by citizens, and further data clean-up using the Automated Biometric Identification System, the final register for the forthcoming Governorship elections is being finalised.”

He added, “Before the end of this week, the commission will publish the final figures of new voters in the two states as well as their distribution by gender, age, occupation, and disability. Thereafter, the timetable for the collection of uncollected Permanent Voter Cards from previous registration, and new registrants from the latest CVR, will be published. Based on the information provided by the Commission, we look forward to your partnership in encouraging citizens to collect their PVCs.

“As the Edo State Governorship approaches, I wish to remind CSOs to submit the list of your observers by uploading the required information, including photographs, to the dedicated portal.

“As of yesterday, Monday 29th July 2024, 56 organisations have uploaded the details of 894 observers for the Edo State Governorship election representing 33.6% of the expected 2,660 observers. The deadline is Wednesday 31st July 2024 when the portal automatically shuts down at 6 pm. I urge you to ensure that you meet the deadline so that the Commission can produce the accreditation tags and deliver them to you for distribution to your observers in good time.

“At the same time, the Commission is aware that some organisations have not only responded in good time but have also requested additional slots for observers to deploy across the two States. The Commission will consider such requests on a case-by-case basis depending on the organisation’s previous experience, size, capacity, and record of compliance with the guidelines and code of conduct for election observation.”