The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced yesterday that 40 polling units will not hold elections in the gubernatorial polls scheduled for November 11 in Bayelsa and Imo States.
INEC said elections will not take place in certain polling places because there are no registered voters, according to a statement released by the commission and signed by National Commissioner Sam Olumelun, who oversees voter education and information.
The list of Permanent Voter Cards gathered in the states of Kogi, Imo, and Bayelsa before the polls has also been made public by the umpire.
News About Nigeria noted that 101,003 PVCs remain uncollected, making Imo State the state with the most uncollected voter cards while having the highest voter registration rate. About 39, 249 PVCs are uncollected in Bayelsa.
Approximately 99,494 PVCs were not collected in Kogi State, according to the announcement.
The statement says as follows: “To assess the continuing preparations for the off-cycle governorship elections in Bayelsa, Imo, and Kogi States planned for Saturday, November 11, 2023, the Commission met today, Monday, October 30, 2023.
“The Commission is disseminating the full data on collected and uncollected Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) in the three States on a polling unit basis, as was done in previous elections, including the 2023 General Election.
“In addition, the data provides the polling place distribution by Local Government Areas, Registration Areas/Wards, polling place names, code numbers, registered voter count, and number of PVCs collected and uncollected.”
The statement also affirmed that equally important, the list includes the names and locations of two polling units in Bayelsa State and 38 in Imo State that do not have registered voters.
In Bayelsa State, 1,017,613 registered voters have picked up their PVCs, while 39, 249 have not yet been picked up, per the breakdown for the three states.
Of the 2,419,922 registered voters in Imo State, 2,318,919 have collected their PVCs, and 101,003 have not; similarly, of the 1,932,654 registered voters in Kogi State, 1,833,160 have received their PVCs, and 99,494 have not.
