The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has slated Saturday for mock accreditation of voters in preparation for the November 11 Governorship Election in the state.
The INEC National Chairman, Prof. Mahmud Yakubu, disclosed this at the Kogi INEC Headquarters in Lokoja during the presentation of the official publication of the Voters Register to the 18 participating political parties in the upcoming governorship election
Yakubu, represented by a National Commissioner, Prof. Sani Adam (SAN), said the exercise would take place in only nine polling units, three each from the state’s three senatorial districts.
The chairman announced that similar excise shall simultaneously occur in Bayelsa and Imo states, whose governorship election shall also be held on November 11.
He called on the residents/voters in the selected polling units to come out en masse to participate in the exercise, which he described as a litmus test to the actual election.
According to him, the commission is well prepared for the governorship poll and appealed to politicians and the electorate to abide by the rules of the game for a peaceful, credible and successful conduct of the election.
“We have all it takes in terms of staff and logistics as well as the necessary security support by security operatives to conduct a peaceful and successful election in Kogi.
“As a commission, we expect everyone to eschew any form of violence or crisis to help usher in a leader that will pilot the affairs of the state after Jan. 26, for the desired growth and development,” he advised.
Yakubu said that the publication and presentation of voters’ registers to the 18 political parties was imperative for getting fillers from them in the upcoming election.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the total number of registered voters in Kogi for the election is 1,932,654, comprising 953,941 males and 953,941 females.
“A PDF copy of the Register of Voters will be issued to all the political parties contesting the election.
“The commission will deploy the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) in all the 3,508 polling units in Kogi for the election.
“Already, we have trained technical support staff that will be deployed to all the Registration Areas (RAs) and the local Governments to provide technical support for BVAS,” he said.
Responding, the state IPAC Chairman, Mr Ukwenge Musa, commended INEC for its preparations and readiness for the Nov. 11 governorship election.
He assured the commission of the support of the participating political parties to ensure that the election was peaceful and successful.
(NAN)
