By Seyi Babalola
Professor Mahmood Yakubu, National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has expressed hope that the gubernatorial election in Ondo State on November 16, 2024, will have a large voter participation.
The INEC chairman, speaking on Sunday in Akure, Ondo State’s capital, praised the state’s continuing continuous voter registration, or CVR, as commendable given the number of registrants reported in recent days.
Yakubu, who was in the state to check the level of preparedness for the off-cycle election, said that since the exercise began on May 27, 2024, almost 20,000 new registrations had been collected.
“I’m basically in Ondo State for two reasons. The first is to observe the ongoing continuous voter registration, which started on Monday, the 27th of last month.
“We have made tremendous progress based on the daily reports I have been receiving from the state office. The second reason is the early assessment of our readiness for the Ondo State governorship election.
“The election is held in the next five months, two weeks, and two days, on November 16. From the figures we are seeing of the registration, so far, since the exercise started, there has been a tremendous voter turnout.
“As of yesterday, for instance, in Ondo, we have about 20, 000 fresh registrants as of Saturday, and we are in the middle of the process.
“The new registrants do not include transfers, the collection of cards, or the replacement of cards. So, with the enthusiasm demonstrated, particularly by the young men, when you look at the breakdown of the figures, I think there will be no voter apathy in the forthcoming elections,” he said.
