Anambra Guber: INEC says some Units without Voters
Ahead of the Anambra state gubernatorial election slated for November 6, the Independent National Electoral Commission has said out of the 5,720 Polling Units, 86 have no voters.
The commission chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, stated this Friday during a special consultative meeting with political parties in Abuja.
The INEC boss noted that materials would not be did attributed to such polling units. He said that 894 representing 15.6 per cent of the polling units have between 1 and 49 voters.
“Understandably, the voters have also been more cautious in asking for a transfer to polling units. At the same time, the commission did not use its powers under Section 42 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) to allow voters to the new polling units to minimise the disruptions that may occur from such a decision given the forthcoming governorship election.
“Consequently, out of the 5,720 polling units in Anambra State, 86; 1.5 per cent have no voters. For that reason, the commission will not be deploying personnel and materials to these polling units. Furthermore, 894 representing 15.6 per cent of the polling units have between 1 and 49 voters. The election will hold in these polling units.”
The commission’s chair said all non-sensitive materials had been moved to the 21 Local Government Areas of the State, while the Central Bank of Nigeria delivers sensitive materials on schedule.
He pleaded with political parties to ensure their agents were on the ground to inspect the materials at the CBN.
“Our State office in Awka is arranging for stakeholders to inspect the materials at the premises of the CBN in Awka. As is the case in all elections, the sensitive materials are moved under security escort to each Local Government Area from where they are distributed to the Registration Areas or Wards and finally to Polling Units on Election Day”, he added.
Meanwhile, Yakubu further reiterated the commission’s commitment to working with stakeholders to ensure that all polling units have voters allotted to them ahead of the 2023 general election.
