The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has released the final register of voters for the governorship elections in Edo and Ondo states.

Sam Olumekun, national commissioner and chairman, information and voter education committee, said the final registers were approved at the meeting of the commission in Abuja.

The Edo State governorship election is scheduled for September 21, 2024, while the exercise will be held in Ondo State on November 16, 2024.

He said the register integrated new voters from the recent continuous registration, as well as the figures of successful applicants for transfer from other states to Edo and Ondo states.

The statement noted that “Edo State now has 2,629,025 registered voters. Among these, 1,370,061 are male, representing 52.11 per cent, while 1,258,964 are female, making up 47.89 per cent. Youths aged 18 to 35 accounted for 983,133 voters, which is 37.4 percent.

“The middle-aged group, aged 36 to 49, comprised 914,806 individuals, collectively constituting 72.2 per cent of the registered voters. 868,764 students constitute the majority of voters or 33.05 per cent. Additionally, there are 4,199 Persons with Disabilities, representing 0.16 per cent of the voters in the state.

“The new register represents a 4.9 per cent increase over the 2023 general election figure of 2,501,081.”

In Ondo State, the statement said, “The state now has 2,053,061 registered voters. Of these, 1,034,006 are male (50.36 per cent), and 1,018,964 are female (49.64 percent).

“Youths aged 18 to 35 years make up 726,944 voters (35.41 per cent), while the middle-aged group consists of 721,982 individuals (35.17 per cent). Together, they represent 70.57 per cent of the registered voters in the state.

“In terms of occupation, 694,938 students constitute the majority of voters (33.85 per cent). There are 1,782 (0.09 per cent) PWDs.

“The new register represents a 3.0 per cent increase over the 2023 general election figure of 1,191,344.”

He added that the detailed breakdown of the register for each state by LGA, gender, age, occupation and disability had been uploaded to the INEC website and the commission’s social media platforms for public access.

He further stated that the commission would release the timetable for the collection of Permanent Voter Cards for all categories of voters in both states, including new registrants, those who applied for transfers, replacements, and uncollected cards from previous registrations.

“In the next few days, the commission will release the timetable for the collection of Permanent Voter Cards for the two states for all categories of voters, including new registrants from the last CVR, voters that applied for transfers, replacements and uncollected cards from previous registrations,” the national commissioner said.