Edo 2024: CSOs get July 31 deadline for submission of list of observers

Ahead of the Edo State Governorship election slated for Saturday September 21, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has given Civil Society Organizations, CSOs, Wednesday July 31, as deadline for submission of their list of observers in the Commission’s dedicated portal.

Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, made this known today, Tuesday July 30, during the Third Regular Quarterly Consultative Meeting with Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) Held at the INEC Conference Room, Abuja.

The INEC Boss, disclosed: “As at yesterday, Monday 29th July 2024, 56 organisations have uploaded the details of 894 observers for the Edo State Governorship election, representing 33.6% of the expected 2,660 observers. The deadline is Wednesday 31stJuly 2024 when the portal automatically shuts down at 6pm.”

Prof. Yakubu, noted: “At the same time, the Commission is aware that some organisations have not only responded in good time, but have also requested for additional slots for observers to deploy across the two States. The Commission will consider such requests on a case-by-case basis depending on the organisation’s previous experience, size, capacity and record of compliance with the guidelines and code of conduct for election observation.

Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, addressing the representatives of CSOs

“You may recall that our first meeting for the year was held on Wednesday 20th March 2024 while the second took place two months ago on Tuesday 14th May 2024. You may also recall that the last meeting focused mainly on the forthcoming Edo State and Ondo State Governorship elections. Today, we will furthermore brief you on the bye-elections that occurred since our last meeting.

“It is now 52 days to the Edo State Governorship election coming up on Saturday 21st September 2024. Our preparations are going on in earnest. I am glad to report that we have recovered from the torrential rainfall that resulted in the severe flooding of our State Headquarters in Benin City two months ago. The damage to the physical infrastructure as well as movable and immovable facilities are being fixed or replaced. We have delivered additional Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines to Edo State for the training of election duty personnel as well as contingency for Election Day support. We have once again published the final list of candidates in compliance with the recent Court Order mandating the Commission to replace the running mate to the candidate of the Labour Party. The amended list is already published on our website.

“Following the conclusion of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR), the display of the register for claims and objections by citizens, and further data clean-up using the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS), the final register for the forthcoming Governorship elections is being finalised. 

“Before the end of this week, the Commission will publish the final figures of new voters in the two States as well as their distribution by gender, age, occupation and disability. Thereafter, the timetable for the collection of uncollected Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) from previous registration, and new registrants from the latest CVR, will be published. Based on the information provided by the Commission, we look forward to your partnership in encouraging citizens to collect their PVCs.”

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