INEC releases final list of voters in Edo, Ondo

The Independent National Electoral Commission has released the final register of voters for the upcoming Edo and Ondo governorship elections.

The decision followed a meeting held by the commission on Tuesday, as contained in a statement signed by the National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun.

The new register incorporates new voters from the recent Continuous Voter Registration and includes successful applicants for transfers from other states to Edo and Ondo.

In Edo, “The State now has 2,629,025 registered voters. The new register marked a 4.9 per cent increase from the 2023 General Election figure of 2,501,081. Among these, 1,370,061 are male, representing 52.11 per cent, while 1,258,964 are female, making up 47.89 per cent. Youths aged 18 to 35 accounted for 983,133 voters, which is 37.4 per cent.

“The middle-aged group, aged 36 to 49, comprised 914,806 individuals, collectively constituting 72.2 per cent of the registered voters. 868,764 students constitute the majority of voters or 33.05 percent. Additionally, there are 4,199 Persons with Disability, representing 0.16 per cent of the voters in the state. The new register represents 4.9 per cent increase over the 2023 General Election figure of 2,501,081,” the commission explained.

In Ondo, “The State now has 2,053,061 registered voters.” The new register shows a 3.0 per cent increase over the 2023 General Election figure of 1,991,344. Of these, 1,034,006 are male (50.36 per cent), and 1,018,964 are female (49.64 per cent). Youths aged 18 to 35 years make up 726,944 voters (35.41 percent), while the middle-aged group consists of 721,982 individuals (35.17 percent). Together, they represent 70.57 per cent of the registered voters in the state.

“In terms of occupation, 694,938 students constitute the majority of voters (33.85 per cent). There are 1,782 (0.09 per cent) PWDs. The new register represents a 3.0% increase over the 2023 General Election figure of 1,191,344,” the statement added.

Olumekun noted that INEC has uploaded a detailed breakdown of the voter register by Local Government Areas, gender, age, occupation, and disability to its website and social media platforms for public access.

He further stated that the commission would release the timetable for the collection of Permanent Voters’ Cards for all categories of voters in both states, including new registrants, those who applied for transfers, replacements, and uncollected cards from previous registrations.

“In the next few days, the Commission will release the timetable for the collection of Permanent Voters’ Cards for the two States for all categories of voters including new registrants from the last CVR, voters that applied for transfers, replacements and uncollected cards from previous registrations,” the national commissioner said.

The Edo election is slated to take place on September 21, 2024. Seventeen political parties are presenting candidates for the election.

The Ondo election is scheduled to take place on November 16, 2024. Seventeen political parties fielded candidates, but notably, no female candidates were among the governorship candidates.