The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Friday said over 2.5 million registered voters are eligible to participate in the November 6 governorship election in Anambra State.
This was disclosed on Friday by the INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu during an emergency meeting of political parties at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja.
According to him, a total of 138,802 citizens completed the registration, including applications for transfer and requests for replacement of lost, damaged or defaced PVCs as required by law.
He however, noted that 62,698 people who are already registered voters, had re-applied, stating that such double applications will be voided as their PVCs remain valid and they can still be used in the elections.
Consequently, he revealed that with the summation of the number of valid registrants at the end of the first quarter of the CVR exercise, which stood at 77,475, to the existing register of 2,447,996 eligible voters, the total number of registered voters in Anambra State now stood at 2,525,471.
While noting that the commission will provide further details to Nigerians on the situation in other States of the Federation and action to be taken on the matter, the INEC Chairman cautioned Nigerians against double registration.
Stating that security remains a major challenge to its preparations for the elections, he expressed confidence that the heightened deployment of security officials expected in the coming weeks will boost voter confidence, adding that the commission will continue to work with the security agencies to ensure that the election is successful and violence-free.
The INEC Chairman also appealed to all political parties and candidates not to further stoke tension in the State through unguarded utterances and actions.
