“There Will Be No Election In 38 Polling Units In Imo State” – INEC

 

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has said there will be no election in 38 polling units in Imo State in the forthcoming November 11 governorship election.

The INEC National Commissioner, Ken Ukeagu, made this known on Thursday at the presentation of the official Register of Voters to political parties in Owerri, Imo State capital.

Ukeagu said that a total of 17 political parties will participate in the election and that polls will hold in 4,720 out of the 4,758 polling units in the state, while polls will not hold in 38 polling units with zero registered voters.  

He recalled that the Commission on November 11, 2022 issued the timetable and Schedule of Activities for the conduct of Governorship Elections in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi states in line with Section 28(1) of the Electoral Act 2022 which mandates the Commission to issue Notice for the Election not later than 360 days before the expiration of the term of office of the last holder of that office.  

“By the provision of that timetable, election to the office of Governor in the three states shall hold on Saturday 11th November 2023.

“The Timetable and Schedule of Activities has a total of 13 items for implementation for the Governorship elections in the three states. 

“Working with political parties and other stakeholders, the Commission has successfully implemented 9 of the items. Publication of the official Register of Voters is the 10th item and that is what we are doing today.

“The remaining 3 items are publication of Notice of Poll, Last day for Campaigns by political parties and the Conduct of election.

“We are also making progress in other critical areas of preparation for the election including the provision of sensitive and non-sensitive materials, the recruitment of adhoc staff and planning for the movement of personnel and materials for the election. 

“A total of seventeen (17) political parties will participate in the election. Polls will hold in 4,720 out of the 4,758 polling units in the state. Election will not hold in thirty-eight (38) polling units with zero registered voters.”

Ukeagu said that the Commission will deploy men and materials to 4,720 polling units during the election, adding that Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) would be deployed to the polling units for voter accreditation and upload of results.

He also said that trained technical staff will also be deployed to all the Registration Areas (RAs) and Local Government Areas (LGAs) to provide technical support for the BVAS during the election. 

“You will recall that the Commission published the National Register of Voters on 11th of January 2023 which was used for the conduct of the 2023 General election. The same Register of Voters will be used for the forthcoming Governorship election in Imo state.

“The total number of registered voters in Imo state for the coming Governorship election is 2,419,922 comprising of 1,199,263 males and 1,220,659 females," he said. 

He further noted that the Commission on September 10, lifted the suspension on the collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) in the three states of Imo, Bayelsa and Kogi. 

“All uncollected PVCs were made available for collection between 11th September and 9th October 2023.”