Registered Voters Hit 1.05m, Over 1.02 Million PVCs Collected Ahead of Saturday’s Ekiti State Governorship Election — INEC

June 17, () — The Independent National Electoral Commission says 1,059,360 registered voters are expected to participate in Saturday’s Ekiti State Governorship Election 2026, with over 1.02 million Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) already collected ahead of the highly anticipated off-cycle poll.

In a statement signed on Wednesday by Mohammed Kudu Haruna, INEC National Commissioner and Chairman Information and Voter Education Committee, the Commission announced the successful conclusion of PVC collection, revealing that 1,028,929 voters had collected their cards, representing 97.1 per cent of the total registered voters expected to vote across the state’s 16 local government areas.

INEC said the updated voter register reflects a significant increase compared to the previous election cycle in Ekiti State, with the number of registered voters rising from 987,647 in 2023 to 1,059,360 in 2026, representing an increase of more than 71,000 new voters ahead of the governorship contest.

The Commission also disclosed that PVC collection improved from 958,052 cards collected in 2023, which represented a 97.0 per cent collection rate, to 1,028,929 cards collected this year, pushing the collection rate slightly higher to 97.1 per cent.

The electoral body had earlier extended the PVC collection exercise from June 11 to June 14 following consultations with stakeholders during a meeting held in Ado-Ekiti, in a move aimed at ensuring more eligible voters had the opportunity to collect their cards before election day.

Ahead of the poll, INEC confirmed that 13 political parties have been cleared to participate in the governorship election, setting the stage for a race involving the incumbent governor Biodun Oyebanji. of the All Progressives Congress, and 12 other challengers.

Among candidates seeking to unseat the incumbent are Oluwole Oluyede of the Peoples Democratic Party; Oluwadare Bejide of the African Democratic Congress; Opeyemi Falegan of the Accord Party; Joseph Anifowose of the Allied People’s Movement; Oyebanji Olajuyin of the Labour Party Nigeria; Blessing Ayobami Abegunde of the New Nigeria People’s Party; and Olaniyi Ayodele of the People’s Redemption Party.

Other candidates in the race include Bidemi Awogbemi of the Action Peoples Party; Akande Oluwasegun of the African Action Congress; Ayodeji Ojo of the Action Democratic Party; Victor Adetunji of the Zenith Labour Party; and Otunba Peter Obafemi of the Social Democratic Party of Nigeria.

Providing additional updates, INEC said 14,406 applications were received from voters seeking replacement PVCs after cases of loss, damage, or defacement of their original cards.

According to the Commission, all replacement cards were successfully printed in line with provisions of Section 18(1) of the Electoral Act 2026, with most already collected by affected voters.

However, INEC said its planned introduction of downloadable digital voter cards for citizens whose PVCs were lost or damaged could not be deployed for the Ekiti election because the required technological infrastructure is yet to be completed.

The commission said the innovation is expected to debut in subsequent elections, particularly the Osun State Governorship Election 2026 and later the 2027 Nigerian General Election.

Reaffirming its readiness for Saturday’s exercise, INEC urged voters who have collected their PVCs to come out peacefully and participate in the democratic process, assuring residents of Ekiti State of its commitment to delivering a free, fair, credible, and inclusive governorship election.