By Zubairu Idris
#TrackNigeria: The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), says about 3.1 million voters are expected to participate in the Feb. 16, and March 2, election in Katsina state.
INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the state, Alhaji Jibril Ibrahim Zarewa, made the disclosure on Wednesday at a stakeholders’ meeting in Katsina.
He said a total of 3,251,927 voters were registered in the state, making it the fourth in voter population in the country.
“The state has 3,251,927 registered voters, out of which, 3,187,988 Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVC’s) had been collected, leaving 63,939 PVC’s unclaimed,” he said.
He said the state has 34 Local Government Areas (LGAs) with 361 wards and 4,902 poling units.
According to him, 18 political parties fielded candidates for the governorship poll, 34 for senatorial election, 90 for House of Representatives and 316 for State House of Assembly election.
The commissioner revealed that 27,521 ad-hoc staff were required for the conduct the election.
He said INEC also required 2,174 buses to transport ad hoc staff and election materials to voting centers.
The commissioner revealed that INEC had already signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) and other transport unions to ensure that the election is hitch free.
Zarewa revealed that over 7,000 Smart Card Readers would be used during the election.
He revealed that election would be conducted simultaneously with accreditation of voters and would commence early in the morning.
He commended political parties for conducting peaceful campaign.(NAN)
