|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Full Text
A few weeks after voters in Edo State elected Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressive Congress to run for the next four years, their southwest neighbours in Ondo State will similarly decide their fates at the 2024 governorship election, scheduled to hold on Nov. 16, 2024. Amidst typical electoral tension across the 18 local governments and power-play between candidates representing 16 political parties, some critical numbers indicate the preparedness level as the fierce battle looms. DUBAWA reviewed the statistics that can influence the election’s outcome.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has confirmed that there are 2,053,061 registered voters in Ondo State. This number includes 1,034,000 males (50.36%) and 1,019,000 females (49.64%), reflecting a fairly balanced gender representation among the electorate. Notably, 726,944 voters are youths, representing 35.41% of the total, indicating significant engagement from younger demographics.
However, challenges remain. As of Oct. 15, 2024, the commission’s information and voter education committee, Sam Olumekun, revealed that 295,603 registered voters have yet to collect their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), implying a need for increased voter mobilisation efforts before D-day. Meanwhile, INEC commenced the distribution of PVCs from Oct. 17, 2024, with collection centres established across all local government areas to facilitate access.
The recent Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise added 58,708 new voters, while 3,132 voters transferred their registrations into Ondo State and 123 transferred out.
INEC also received a substantial portion of non-sensitive election materials and deployed them to all 18 local government areas while working closely with security agencies to ensure a safe environment for voters and electoral officials.
The Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) will also be deployed in all 3,933 polling units to facilitate efficient voter accreditation across the state.
Final Candidates and Parties
The final list of candidates released by INEC reveals that 17 political parties are participating in the election. Notably, none of the candidates are female.
Contesting political parties have submitted 24,148 party agents for the election, representing 32.3% of the expected total of 74,790 agents that the parties should have nominated. The election will take place across 3,933 polling units and 222 collation centres, including 203 ward centres, 18 local government centres, and a single state collation centre in Akure.
The breakdown of submitted agents shows 22,689 polling agents, 1,249 ward agents, 196 local government agents, and 14 state collation agents. Out of the 18 political parties participating in the election, only 15 parties submitted details of their agents, while three did not submit any agents at any level of polling or collation.
Conclusion
The key statistics regarding registered voters, uncollected PVCs, and party agents illustrate the upcoming Ondo State governorship election dynamics. Active voter participation will be crucial in shaping the state’s future governance in Ondo state.
