The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says 261,703 permanent voter cards (PVCs) are yet to be collected in Ondo as the state prepares for its November 16 governorship election. 

Oluwatoyin Babalola, the state’s Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), disclosed this at a stakeholders’ meeting organised by the electoral body in Akure on Thursday. 

Ms Babalola said there were 1,991,344 registered voters in the state as of the last gubernatorial election in 2020, and 1,729,641 collected their PVCs.

“With the figure, no fewer than 261,703 permanent voters’ cards (PVCs) remained uncollected,” the INEC official said.

According to Ms Babalola, 18 political parties would participate in the state’s governorship election exercise.

Meanwhile, Kunle Ajayi, the national commissioner supervising Ondo, Ogun and Osun, said the electoral body will begin the Continuous Voters Register (CVR) exercise in all the 210 centres of Ondo.

Mr Ajayi recalled that the last CVR exercise ended in July 2022, before the 2023 general elections, noting that the plans to resume a new exercise were underway. 

He begged the election stakeholders to mobilise prospective registrants for the forthcoming CVR exercise.

“The new CVR exercise will commence from Monday, May 27 to Wednesday, June 5, 2024, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. daily, including the weekend.

“We (INEC) believe that within this period, there would have been a lot of young boys and girls who would have grown to the constitutionally approved voting age of 18 years.

“And any other eligible voters who have been unable to register during the previous CVR exercises would be able to take advantage of this CVR to do so,” Mr Ajayi said.