The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that the distribution of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) to registered voters will begin on Thursday, in preparation for the upcoming Ondo State governorship election.
Sam Olumekun, INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, made the announcement in a statement on Monday.
The Ondo governorship election is set for November 16, 2024.
According to the statement, a total of 89,777 new PVCs have been printed and delivered to INEC’s office in Akure, comprising 58,708 new voters and 31,069 individuals who applied for transfers, updates, or replacements for lost and damaged PVCs.
The PVC collection will be available at two levels across 221 centers in the state.
“The PVCs for all categories of applicants will be available for collection in 221 centres across the State at two levels. First, in all the 203 Wards from Thursday 17th to Monday 21st October 2024. Secondly, in our 18 LGA offices from Wednesday 23rd to Tuesday 29th October 2024 from 9.00 am to 5.00 pm daily (including the weekends).
“During the period, the backlog of uncollected PVCs from previous registrations will also be available for collection at the designated centres,” the statement read in part.
The commission urged all registered voters to pick up their PVCs in person, reiterating that collection by proxy is not allowed.
“We appeal to registered voters in the State to pick up their PVCs in person on the approved dates.
“The commission reiterates its policy that no cards will be collected by proxy. Detailed information, including location addresses of the Ward and Local Government collection centres, has been uploaded to our website and social media platforms for public information.
“In addition to pasting the register of new voters for each centre at the designated locations, the commission is also uploading the entire collection register for the new voters to our website to facilitate easy identification of names and collection centres for the seamless collection of the PVCs,” the statement added.