The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says 80 per cent of the non-sensitive materials required for the Aug. 15 Osun governorship election have been received and deployed.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Osun, Mrs Oluwatoyin Babalola, disclosed this at a press conference in Osogbo on the commission’s level of preparedness.
Babalola said 3,763 Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines would be deployed across the state’s 3,763 polling units, with an additional 664 units reserved as backup.
She explained that the BVAS devices would be used to upload polling unit results directly to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) to enhance transparency and public access to results.
According to her, the BVAS machines have been fully charged and are awaiting configuration, which will be carried out close to the election date.
“All sensitive and non-sensitive materials required for the election have been identified.
“ 80 per cent of the non-sensitive materials have been received and deployed to local government areas, and batched into Registration Areas and polling units.
“The state office is collaborating closely with relevant security agencies to ensure their safe storage,” she said.
The REC added that Registration Area Technical Support Staff (RATECHs) would be deployed to all Registration Areas to provide technical support.
She said sensitive materials, including ballot papers, EC8 series result sheets, EC40G forms and BVAS devices, would be delivered to local government areas during the week of the election.
On voter registration, Babalola said the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise recorded 381,817 new registrants, 50,747 transfers, 7,272 updates, 42,355 requests for replacement of lost or damaged Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), 14,362 reviews and 1,865 PVC collections.
She noted that the state had 1,954,800 registered voters prior to the exercise and assured that the commission would announce the commencement of PVC collection once the cards are ready.
Babalola reaffirmed INEC’s commitment to conducting a free, fair, credible, transparent and inclusive governorship election.
She added that seven of the 13 scheduled activities for the election had been completed, in line with the commission’s timetable.
According to her, the eighth activity—campaigns by political parties—is currently ongoing.
The REC further said the recruitment portal for election officials, opened on June 27, would close on July 18, noting that only qualified applicants would be shortlisted.
She emphasised that the recruitment process would prioritise competence, neutrality, integrity and professionalism, urging all eligible persons to apply.