THE Ondo State office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has begun distributing non-sensitive election materials in preparation for the stateโs off-cycle governorship election scheduled for November 16.
At a media briefing in Akure on Saturday, the stateโs Resident Electoral Commissioner, Oluwatoyin Babalola, announced that a significant portion of the non-sensitive materials for the election has been received.
These materials have already been distributed to all 18 local government areas in the state.
Babalola assured that the materials are being stored securely with the help of security agencies.
She further explained that the materials will be organized by registration areas (RAs) and polling units (PUs) and dispatched on the eve of the election.
She stated, โA large percentage of the non-sensitive election materials required for the election have been received and deployed to the 18 Local Government Offices, where they are being organized for distribution to RAs and PUs. We are collaborating with security agencies to ensure safe storage and timely deployment of these materials.โ
Babalola also disclosed that Ondo State now has a total of 2,053,061 registered voters after updating the voter register. Of these, 1,034,006 are male (50.36%), while 1,019,055 are female (49.64%).
Breaking down the demographics further, she noted that youths make up 35.41% of the registered voters (726,944), middle-aged individuals 35.17% (721,982), the elderly 21.51% (441,516), and older individuals 7.92% (162,619).
Additionally, 1,782 people with disabilities are registered, representing 0.09% of the voter base.
Babalola assured voters that their votes would count, as INEC is working closely with security agencies to ensure a smooth, free, fair, and credible election.
She also confirmed that the BVAS (Bimodal Voter Accreditation System) will be deployed in all 3,933 polling units across the state.