Edo 2020: We Cannot Distribute PVCs Because Of COVID-19- INEC

Zainab Sanni

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Thursday said that many eligible voters will be disenfranchised in the September 19 governorship election in Edo State owing to COVID-19 restrictions.

INEC’s Head of Voters Education and Publicity in Edo State, Mr Timidi Wariowei, stated this in Benin City at a Civil Society Organisation Roundtable on the 2020 Governorship Election in Edo.

Wariowei, who spoke on “Governorship Election in Edo: Issues at Stake and their Implications on the Conduct of Credible Election”, in the programme organised by Centre for Democracy and Development, said the INEC was ready for the conduct of poll.‎

He said; ‘The continuous voters registration would have taken care of those that have attained the age of 18 years after the last exercise and those that were unable to register for one reason or the other during the exercise.

‘The COVID-19 pandemic didn’t allow us to also carry out distribution of the PVCs,’ he explained, adding that ‘we do not want to be accused unnecessarily or seen to be undermining the people, but for their own protection.”

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Wariowei said that, in spite of of these challenges, elections must be conducted in the State to avoid a constitutional crisis.

He said the poll would be conducted in a away to avoid mass spread of the disease.

“NCDC guidelines have been mainstreamed into the guidelines provided by the Commission for the conduct of the governorship election.

“Every voter at the polling units must wear a face mask, if you don’t have face mask, you must at least have something to cover your nose and mouth to be allowed to vote.

‘There must also be a distance of 2 meter or 6 feet between each voter on queue at the polling units. We will also be providing alcohol-based disinfectants to be used to disinfect the card reader after every accreditation during the poll,’ he assured.

While noting that 14 political parties met the deadline for the submission of their candidates, he said some trainings have since commenced for some officers that would participate in the conduct of the election.

He said training for Supervisory Presiding Officers (SPOs) and Collation Officers (COs) would be the last to be done a week before the election.