Over 5.4 million people, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission, have registered to vote in the November 11 governorship elections in the states of Kogi, Imo, and Bayelsa.
Sam Olumekun, National Commissioner of INEC and the organization’s Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, said this in a statement on Tuesday.
The commission examined the preparations for the off-cycle governorship elections in the states of Bayelsa, Imo, and Kogi during its regular meeting on Tuesday, October 10, 2023.
There are a total of 5,409,438 registered voters across the three states for the next elections, according to Olumekun: 1,056 862 in Bayelsa State, 2,419,922 in Imo State, and 1,932,654 in Kogi State.
He stated that the political parties running in the elections would receive soft copies of the whole voter registration for each state.
For emphasis, he continued, “All 18 political parties in Kogi State and 16 political parties in Bayelsa State are supporting candidates.
READ ALSO: Guber poll: INEC once more expresses concern over the security situation in Imo, Bayelsa, and Kogi
The event, which will be held at the Collation Centres in the state offices of the commission in Lokoja, Owerri, and Yenagoa on Thursday, October 12, 2023 at 10 am, is open to state chairmen of political parties or their designated representatives.
Olumekun also stated that the commission had completed plans for mock voter accreditation in the three states to test the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System and upload of polling unit results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal, further demonstrating INEC’s commitment to deepening the deployment of technology for voter accreditation and result management.
“On Saturday, October 14, 2023, from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm, the exercise will be conducted concurrently in the three states.
“Our website and social media outlets have already posted the list of designated polling places for each state.
“Lessons from the exercise will be taken into account to guarantee that the deployment of the BVAS and IReV on election day goes without a hitch. This is not the actual election; it’s just a test run.
The commission once more requests that registered voters in the chosen polling places show up with their Permanent Voters Cards for the election.
He also disclosed that for the governorship elections on November 11 INEC had authorised 119 domestic and eight foreign observers.
