By: Mercy Peter
53 days to the Edo State Governorship election, eight political parties are yet to conclude the uploading of their party agents, NewsSpecng learnt.
The Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu disclosed on Monday that as at Sunday 28 July, only 14 political parties have concluded the process of submission and unloading of party agents ahead of the September 21 2024 poll.
Yakubu said the other eight parties have till midnight on Tuesday to do the needful.
He spoke during the quarterly consultative meeting with political parties in the country.
He said: “As the Edo State Governorship approaches, I wish to remind leaders of political parties of your obligation to submit the list of your agents by uploading the required information, including photographs, to the dedicated portal.
“As at yesterday, Sunday 28th July 2024, 14 political parties have uploaded the details of 38,354 polling agents and 819 collation agents for the Edo State Governorship election.
“Three parties are yet to upload a single polling agent while five parties have not uploaded a single agent for Ward, Local Government and State collation centres.
“The deadline is tomorrow Tuesday 30th July 2024 when the portal automatically shuts down at midnight.
“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 agents in good time.”
Yakubu also assured the political parties that the commission is on track and has recovered from the flood setback.
He said:;”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 has been fixed. Vehicles have been repaired while other movable and immovable facilities have been serviced, refurbished or are being gradually replaced. We have delivered additional Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines to Edo State for the training of election duty personnel as well as contingency for Election Day support.”
He also said that the commission has since published the final list of candidates.
He also added that the display of the Voter register for the 2024 Governorship elections in Edo and Ondo States are being finalised.
“ 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 Voters’ Cards (PVCs) from previous registration and new registrants from the latest CVR will be published.”
He further added: “ the register of voters will be published not later than 30 days before the date fixed for the election. We wish to reassure the Chairmen of political parties that each party fielding candidates in the forthcoming Governorship election in Edo State will receive the softcopy of the register on 20th August 2024 while that of Ondo State will take place on 15th October 2024.”
He also urged political parties and candidates to demonstrate compliance with the Commission’s Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties 2022, especially the aspect dealing with rallies, processions and campaigns.
He pointed out that “The campaign period has often been characterised by acrimony and tension. Sadly, it is also a period of verbal abuse and physical confrontation among parties, candidates and their supporters.”
On recent shooting Edo State, Yakubu said: “The Commission finds the recent event in Edo State resulting in the death of a security personnel worrisome. Happily, there has been no incident known to the Commission since then. Nevertheless, the Commission will meet with the security agencies under the auspices of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES).
“ I want to assure you that security in Edo and Ondo will be a major issue for discussion at the meeting. We are as concerned about the safety of your candidates, agents and supporters as we are about the security of our own officials, observers, journalists, service providers and, above all, the voters.”
On the bye-elections, Yakubundaid the commission will soon announce the dates for the bye-elections.
