Abuja: The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has stated that the preliminary figures, pending data clean-up, show that females in Anambra outnumber males by 27,477.
While the number of males stood at 97,832, that of females was 70,355 (42 per cent), making the total number 168,187.
Sam Olumekun, National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, disclosed this in a statement issued on Thursday in Abuja following the Commission’s weekly meeting.
Olumekun stated that, as part of the continued preparations for the Anambra governorship election, the Commission received the final report on the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) and followed it with a presentation by the ICT Department on the portal for party registration.
Olumekun recalled that INEC had earlier extended the deadline for its CVR exercise in the state from July 17 to 20 following appeals by citizens.
“The final figure of new registrants is 168,187, which is the highest number recorded in two weeks in Anambra since the introduction of the CVR ahead of the governorship election in 2017.
“In terms of age, 90,763 (53.97 per cent) are young people aged 18-34, while the occupational distribution shows that 62,157 (36.92 per cent) are businessmen/women, and 44,243 (26.31 per cent) are students.
“In terms of Persons with Disability (PWDs), 303 (24.92 per cent) have physical impediment, followed by 207 (17.02 per cent) with albinism,” he said.
Olumekun said that the detailed breakdown of the new registrants had been uploaded to the INEC website and other platforms for public information.
He said that the immediate next step would be to display the preliminary register of new voters for claims and objections by citizens who were the ultimate owners of the register.
Olumekun said that the display would take place in all 326 Wards in Anambra from Saturday, July 26, to Friday, August 1.
He noted that once the process was concluded, including the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS), the new registrants would be added to the existing register and published on a polling unit basis ahead of the election.
“Thereafter, the Commission will announce the dates and locations for the collection of the Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) for new registrants and those who applied for transfer or replacement of their lost or damaged cards.
“The PVCs from previous registration will also be available for collection.
“With 105 days to the election, the Commission is aware of the tight timelines, but we wish to reassure all new registrants in Anambra State that their PVCs will be available for collection ahead of the election,” Olumekun said.
Providing an update on party registration, Olumekun stated that the Commission had received an additional 10 requests from associations seeking registration, bringing the total number of requests to 144.
” In our last press release, we assured Nigerians that we are finalising the necessary tests on the party registration portal designed and built in-house by our ICT officials.
“As is the case with all our IT innovations, the new portal has been demonstrated before the Commission and approved for deployment.
“The Commission is evaluating all the numerous letters of intent received so far to determine the associations that meet the requirements to proceed to the application stage. A report is expected at our next regular meeting.
He added that the details of the new associations, including their names, acronyms, logos, addresses, and interim leadership, had been published on the INEC website and other public platforms.