INEC Fixes Imo Supplementary Election For April 25

There was mild drama Wednesday as the
Resident Electoral Commissioner for Imo
State, Dr. Gabriel Ada failed to give the
accurate number of registered voters
and the number of Permanent Voter
Cards (PVC) collected in the areas where
the Commission will conduct
supplementary governorship fixed for
April 25.
INEC had while declaring the governorship
election inconclusive, given the figure of
registered voters in the affected areas as
144715, which was higher than the margin
with which the All Progressives Congress
(APC) governorship candidate, Governor
Rochas Okorocha was leading his closest
rival, Emeka Ihedioha.
But Ada who briefed journalists
Wednesday, could not confirm the figure
or disclose the number of PVC distributed
in the areas.
When pressed further, the REC, who had
come under fire for the alleged
compromised role of the Commission
during the Presidential and governorship
elections in the state, said that “the number
is approximately between 145,000 to
150,000 registered voters”.
He also stated that the number of PVC
collected will not form a threshold for the
number of voters that will participate in
the supplementary election, adding that
“those that did not collect their PVC before
the election still have the opportunity to do
so because only those with their PVC that
will participate in the election”.
The REC who was not also emphatic on the
number of Polling Units where the
scheduled election will hold, said that “the
election will hold in over 200 Polling Units
in 23 Local Government Areas of the
state”.
He announced further that the APC won 16
seats in the House of Assembly elections,
while the election was inconclusive in six
constituencies and has been rescheduled to
hold on the same date with the
supplementary election.