Independent National Electoral Commission has created additional 25 voter registration centres in Anambra State to enable the commission cope with the surge by the citizens for the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise.
The resident electoral commissioner (REC), in the state, Dr. Nwachukwu Orji, who disclosed this to newsmen at the commission’s state headquarters in Awka, yesterday, explained that with the additional centres, there were now a total of 87 centres where the CVR exercise were being carried out in the state, adding that the national headquarters of the commission had also deployed additional 25 registration machines for use at the new CVR centres.
The REC stated that the period for carrying out the CVR exercise had been reviewed to provide longer periods for the conduct of the exercise each day, stating that the exercise now commences before 9am and could last beyond 3pm each day. He stated that instructions had been given to the staff members of the commission to make sure that all those at the registration centres before the normal 3pm closing time were attended to before they finally close each day.
The INEC state boss explained that two services being provided in the CVR exercise include: biometric and non-biometre, and, explained that while the former which involved new voter registration and replacement of lost permanent voter’s cards are the exercises that had to be done only at the registration centres, the latter which is non-biometric, and, which involves transfer of voting centres could be done by the affected voters on the commission’s portal online, and, therefore did not require the person to go to the CVR centre.
He stated that no evidence had so far been produced against the two staff members of the commission at Nnewi-North local government earlier accused of demanding money from citizens to register them for permanent voter’s card, and, explained, that the affected staff members, however, had been withdrawn from the conduct of the exercise “to quarantine public confidence on the CVR exercise”.
He stated that all the commission’s local government offices in the state earlier closed because of insecurity had been re-opened, and, disclosed that the only remaining local government, Idemili-North was re-opened yesterday.
