The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has called on the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to help it in mobilising prospective registrants for the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise ahead of the Edo and Ondo State governorship elections.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu made the call on Tuesday in Abuja at the second quarterly consultative meeting with the CSOs.
TheHintsNews reports that the Edo State Governorship election is holding on Saturday 21st September, 2024 while the Ondo Governorship election holds in the next six months on Saturday 16th November 2024.
The Commission had on Monday announced the timetable for the CVR as part of our preparations for the Edo and Ondo State Governorship elections.
It added that the CVR would take place simultaneously in the two States from Monday 27th May 2024 to Wednesday 5th June 2024, between 9.00am and 3.00pm daily including the weekend.
Yakubu said: “The Commission therefore appeals to CSOs to join us in mobilising prospective registrants for the exercise, particularly on the need to register early and not wait until the deadline approaches when the registration centres will be inundated by eleventh hour registrants.
“As we inch closer to Election Day in Edo State, it is also imperative to remind CSOs of the need to submit your applications for election observation in earnest along with the required supporting documents and a realistic number of individual observers.”
The electoral body stressed that doing so would enable the Commission to produce and deliver the identity cards for observers in good time.
Yakubu warner that the Commission would not entertain requests outside the deadline for the receipt of applications from interested observer groups or process applications that do not meet the criteria