Edo election – INEC Chairman says commission ready.

The National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Thursday stated that the commission is fully ready and prepared to conduct the Edo governorship election slated for September 19, 2020. Prof. Mahmood Yakubu confirmed this in a meeting with the Inter Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), in Benin.

He pointed in detail  that the commission has carried out 10 out of the 14 activities on schedule for the election.

He said the whole purpose of the visit was to see firsthand the level of preparation, which it has gotten prior information of.

The commission on Feb. 6, 2020, released a timetable and schedule of activities for Ondo and Edo governorship elections. Seven and eight months notice for the Edo and Ondo elections was given respectively.

Yakubu had promised that the commission has come out with a policy on how to conduct election in a pandemic, adding that the commission is fully ready.

The chairman of the commission said the Edo election would be the first major election the commission would be conducting amid COVID-19 pandemic.

“We test run the policy in small bye-election in Nasarawa state and we are ready with the big one in Edo.’’

Yakubu said that INEC would make the system open and transparent.

He stated that the commission was committed to ensuring a safe environment for the peaceful conduct of the election hence the meeting with ICCES, stakeholders and electoral officials in Edo.

Mr Johnson Alalibo, the state Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) – announced the current number of registered voters in Edo was 2,210,534 including 1,159,325 males and 1,051, 209 females. Also, the number of PVC so far collected is 1,735,910 while uncollected PVC is 483, 868.

The Commissioner of Police, Mr Johnson Kokumo, who is the co-chair of the ICCES, assured of adequate security during the election.