The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says a total of 2,210,334 registered voters are eligible to vote in the forthcoming September 19, 2020 Edo state Governorship election.
This was disclosed by the Public Relations Officer of INEC in Edo State, Ms. Tina Obamogie, in an interview with newsmen on Sunday, in Benin City.
According to her, the Commission would be making use of the 2019 voters register for the election, adding that due to the COVID-19 pandemic there would be no distribution of unclaimed Permanent Voters Cards.
“There are 483,868 unclaimed Permanent Voters Card, but due to the ongoing scourge of coronavirus pandemic, this is not the period to distribute PVCs. Anything that has to do with the collection is not done this period because of COVID-19,” she said.
“We had the intention to distribute before the lockdown but we are considering the safety of lives this period. For that reason, we would rely on the 2019 voters register which has 2, 210, 334 registered voters.”
Ms. Obamogie also disclosed that INEC in Edo has received non-sensitive materials for the Sept. 19 Governorship election, saying the materials had been distributed to the 18 Local Government Areas in the state.
Igbere TV reports that 14 political parties will be participating in the election, with the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the main parties.
Incumbent Governor Godwin Obaseki will face Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu of the APC in the contest. He had defeated Ize-Iyamu, who ran on the PDP platform in 2016.
The governor was elected under APC in 2016 but decamped to contest the PDP ticket which he won – after being disqualified from the APC primaries.
