Over 44,000 polling agents listed for Edo poll – INEC

The Independent National Electoral Commission has announced that more than 44,000 polling and collation agents have been submitted by political parties for the upcoming Edo state governorship election.

This was disclosed in a press release issued on Thursday by the National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun.

The Edo governorship poll is scheduled to be held on September 21, 2024.

According to INEC, the portal for submitting agent details, which opened on July 17 and closed at midnight on July 30, saw 44,687 agents uploaded by the 17 political parties participating in the election.

This figure represented only 55.6 per cent of the expected 80,410 agents needed for the election.

The submitted agents include 43,043 polling unit agents, 1,452 ward collation agents, 179 local government collation agents, and 13 state collation agents.

INEC noted that while three political parties submitted the details of agents at all required levels, one party did not submit any agents at all.

The Edo State governorship poll election will occur across 4,519 polling units and 211 collation centres, including 192 ward centres, 18 local government centres, and the state collation centre in Benin City.

“For the Edo State governorship election, the portal opened on July 17, 2024, and automatically shut down at midnight on July 30, 2024, as indicated on item 9 on the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the election released almost a year ago in September 2023.

“In Edo State, there are 4,519 polling units and 211 collation centres, comprising 192 ward centres, 18 Local Government centres and the State collation centre in Benin city. A political party fielding candidates in the election is expected to nominate 4,730 agents.

“From the 17 parties participating in the election, the commission expected a cumulative figure of 80,410 agents. However, only 44,687 were uploaded to the portal made up of 43,043 polling, 1,452 wards, 179 Local Government and 13 State collation agents. The 17 political parties nominated 55.6 per cent of the expected number of agents.

“Three political parties uploaded the details of their agents for all levels of polling and collation while one party has no single agent for any level of voting or collation,” the statement in part.

A full summary of the agent submissions by political parties has been made available on INEC’s website and social media platforms for public information.