Ahead of the November 16 Ondo State governorship election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said it has made improvements in uploading election results to its Result Viewing Portal (IReV).
The commission also assured voters of improvement in the area of logistics for the movement of personnel and materials for both land and riverine locations.
It said this would enable the prompt commencement of polls as well as the management of the processes on election day from voting to declaration of result.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, stated this at the fourth quarterly consultative meeting with the media held at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja.
Noting that the commission has learnt lessons from previous elections, Yakubu also announced similar improvements in observer and media accreditation.
He said the commission has accredited 112 national and international media organisations deploying over 700 journalists, technicians and other personnel to facilitate their coverage of the election.
Yakubu said: “As I informed civil society organisations at our meeting yesterday, we have learnt lessons from previous elections.
We have improved on the voter accreditation process and the upload of results to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal.
“Our voter education efforts are ongoing. The capacity of election duty staff has improved with hands-on training for especially Polling Unit officials. As we approach the Ondo State governorship election, there will be further improvements, especially in the areas of logistics for the movement of personnel and materials for both land and riverine locations to enable the prompt commencement of polls as well as the management of the processes on Election Day from voting to declaration of result.”
He reminded voters that Mock Accreditation of voters and result upload to the IReV has been scheduled for Wednesday, November 6, 2024, in 12 Polling Units across six local councils in the three senatorial districts of the state.
The INEC boss revealed that the commission would undertake a final readiness assessment of its preparations for the Ondo election next week, stating that “we meet with our officials, engage with stakeholders and interact with the security agencies and transport providers.”
As campaigns by political parties and candidates are in full swing in the state,
Yakubu appealed to the media to intensify accurate reportage that will ensure peaceful elections.
Noting that there has been no major incident of election-related violence known to the commission in Ondo, Yakubu said security agencies have been informed of flash points in some local councils.
“As part of our preparations for the election, the collection of Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs), mainly from the recent voter registration, ended three days ago.
“I am pleased to announce that a total of 64,273 PVCs were collected by voters out of the 89,777 cards delivered to the state. This represents an impressive collection rate of 71.6 per cent.
“I would like to appreciate the media for your support in voter mobilisation for the exercise. In the next few days, the commission will upload to our website the cumulative figure of all PVCs collected in each of the 3,933 Polling Units across the state for the purpose of result management as provided by law and for public information,” he added.
