The South-South Commissioner for the Independent National Electoral Commissioner (INEC), Dr. Mustafa Mohammed Lecky on Tuesday raised an alarm over 300,343 unclaimed permanent voter cards, PVCs, in Delta State.
Lecky, who spoke to DAILY POST in Asaba, said: “We have 300,343 PVCs not collected, in Delta State, so also in other states in the South South, we are appealing to Deltans who have not collected to do so. The PVCs are lying here at various INEC offices in Delta State, apart from PVCs not collected, we have at present 167 political parties who have applied for registration, it is going to be serious in 2019”.
The commissioner explained that INEC was ready to conduct free and fair election in 2019, adding that everything had been put in place to ensure a hitch-free exercise.
The INEC Commissioner supervising Delta, Bayelsa and Cross River States, Lecky expressed concern that Delta alone has 300,343 uncollected PVCs from 2014 to 2017 registrations with INEC, and urged political parties, stakeholders to help educate and mobilize the people to ensure that those who registered with INEC collect their PVCs.
He said: “the commission is greatly burdened about the situation of uncollected PVCs, this is worrisome because it has an effect on the commission’s logistics planning”.
He noted that the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) of voters would be suspended in August 2018, until after the 2019 general elections to enable the commission process those already registered, print the PVCs and get them ready for collection.
While urging all stakeholders to help sensitize, and mobilize the people to get registered before August 17, 2018, the INEC commissioner appealed to political parties to ensure that they adhered to inclusive participation and public trust in the discharge of their duties as they prepare ahead for the series of democratic activities which would be starting from August.
On violation of Electoral Laws, Dr. Lecky said: “we at the INEC are doing our best, but the problem we have is the politicians who violate the laws, they erect billboards when it is not yet time, we cannot take that, we are set to prosecute offenders, and we will bring the deviants to book.”
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