INEC Unfolds Plans For Anambra Election

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will from August
19th to 25th, 2013, conduct Continuous Voter Registration (CVR)
exercise in Anambra State, in preparation for the governorship
election scheduled for November 16.
According to a statement from the commission, from August 16 to 18,
the commission will conduct a voter verification exercise, during
which the Register of Voters will be displayed at polling units
statewide for voters to verify their registration status.
Yesterday, INEC met with national and Anambra State leaders of
registered political parties to brief them on preparations towards the
governorship election. The commission described the meeting as an
opportunity to give the stakeholders up-to-date information on the
data of voters for Anambra State, the status and spread of the polling
units, and the action plan for voter verification and CVR leading up
to the governorship election.
"Following the voter registration exercise conducted in 2011, INEC
declared a figure of 2,011,746 registrants in Anambra State," the
statement said. "The Commission has since subjected that data to
Register Optimization Process, which involved data consolidation, the
use of the Automatic Fingerprints Identification System (AFIS)
software to eliminate multiple registrations and the application of
business rules for printing of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs); ending up
with a valid voter figure of 1, 711, 061 registrants. The impending
CVR offers opportunity for persons who have turned 18 years since
2011, or who were 18-plus at the time but did not register, or who had
less than two fingerprints captured during the 2011 registration
exercise, to get themselves registered ahead of the Anambra
governorship election."
Anambra has 4, 608 polling units in its 21 Local Government Areas
(LGAs). At the meeting with stakeholder meeting on Thursday, INEC
said it identified 53 polling units in nine LGAs that are without
data, and also disclosed the identity of four polling units that have
been foundto be located in the forest the status of which it is
verifying.
"The Chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, urged the stakeholders to
support INEC in mobilising Anambra residents for the voter
verification exercise, the CVR and the November 16th governorship
election. The voter verification will hold at the polling unit level,
while the CVR will hold at the Registration Area centres (i.e. Ward
level) – except for the 53 PUs without data, where registration will
hold at the polling unit level. The Chairman also assured the
stakeholders that with the Register Optimization Process conducted,
Addendum Registers will not be used in the Anambra election."
The statement said that party leaders at the stakeholder meeting
unanimously expressed their satisfaction with the level of preparation
byINEC and promised to mobilise Anambra voters for peaceful and
credible election.
Twenty-four registered political parties were represented at the
stakeholder meeting with INEC.