Anambra guber poll: INEC registers 168,000 new voters in two weeks

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it has registered 168,187 new voters in Anambra ahead of the off-cycle governorship election in the state.

The governorship election is fixed to be held on November 8.

Sam Olumekun, INEC’s national commissioner and chairman of the information and voter education committee, announced the development in a statement issued on Thursday.

Olumekun said the commission received the final report on the continuous registration of voters (CVR), followed by a presentation by its ICT department on the portal for party registration.

The CVR process in Anambra was scheduled to end on July 17 but was extended to July 20, following appeals by citizens.

“The final figure of new registrants is 168,187, which is the highest number recorded in two weeks in Anambra State since the introduction of the CVR ahead of the governorship election in 2017,” the statement reads.

“Although these are preliminary figures pending data cleanup, the detailed breakdown shows that 97,832 (58%) are female, while 70,355 (42%) are male.

“In terms of age, 90,763 (53.97%) are young people aged 18-34, while the occupational distribution shows that 62,157 (36.92%) are businessmen/women, while 44,243 (26.31%) are students.

“In terms of Persons with Disability (PWDs), 303 (24.92%) have physical impediments, followed by 207 (17.02%) with albinism. The detailed breakdown has been uploaded to our website and other platforms for public information.”

Olumekun said the commission would display the preliminary register of new voters for claims and objections by citizens.

“This will take place in all the 326 wards in Anambra from July 26, 2025, to August 1, 2025,” he added.

“Once this process is concluded, including the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS), the new registrants will be added to the existing register and published on a polling unit basis ahead of the election.

“Thereafter, the Commission will announce the dates and locations for the collection of the Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) for new registrants and those who applied for transfer or replacement of their lost or damaged cards.

“The PVCs from previous registration will also be available for collection. With 105 days to the election, the Commission is aware of the tight timelines, but we wish to reassure all new registrants in Anambra State that their PVCs will be available for collection ahead of the election.”

PARTY REGISTRATION

Olumekun said the commission has received 10 more letters of intent from associations seeking registration as political parties, bringing the number to 144.

“The details of the new associations, including their names, acronyms, logos, addresses, and interim leaderships, are published on our website and other platforms for public information,” he said.

“In our last press release, we assured Nigerians that we are finalising the necessary tests on the party registration portal designed and built in-house by our ICT officials. As is the case with all our IT innovations, the new portal has been demonstrated before the Commission and approved for deployment.

“The Commission is evaluating all numerous letters of intent received so far to determine the associations that meet the requirements to proceed to the application stage. A report is expected at our next regular meeting.”