INEC official said the figure was the highest recorded within two weeks in the state since the commission introduced the process in 2017.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has concluded the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise in Anambra State, recording 168,187 new registrants.

The National Commissioner and Chairperson, Information and Voter Education Committee (IVEC), INEC, Sam Olumekun, disclosed this in a statement on Friday in Awka.

Mr Olumekun said the figure was the highest recorded within two weeks in the state since the commission introduced the process in 2017.

“The CVR, which was initially scheduled to end on 17 July, was extended by three days to 20 July 2025, in response to appeals from stakeholders.

“The turnout reflected the growing interest of citizens in the electoral process ahead of the 8 November off-cycle governorship election in Anambra State,” he said.

He said though these were preliminary figures pending data clean-up, the detailed breakdown showed that 97,832, (58 per cent) were females, while 70,355 (42 per cent) were males.

According to him, 90,763, representing 53.97 per cent, were young people between 18 and 34 years old.

He added that the occupational data shows that entrepreneurs constituted the largest bloc with 62,157 registrants or 36.92 per cent, followed by students with 44,243 representing 26.31 per cent.

The commissioner said 303 Persons with Disabilities registered while 207 was identified as persons with albinism.

“A comprehensive demographic breakdown has been uploaded to the commission’s website and other digital platforms for public information,” he said.

Mr Olumekun said the next step in the registration process would be the display of the preliminary register of voters across the 326 Wards from 26 July to 1 August.

He said that during the period, the public would have the opportunity to inspect and raise claims or objections.

“Once this is concluded and the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) is deployed to weed out multiple or ineligible entries, the new registrants will be added to the existing register.

“The complete list will be published on a Polling Unit basis,” he added.

Mr Olumekun assured residents that Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) for new voters, as well as those who requested for transfers or replacements, would be ready before the election.

“With 105 days to the election, the commission is aware of the tight timelines.

“But, we wish to reassure all new registrants in Anambra that their PVCs will be available for collection before the election,” he said.

He also said that the commission had completed internal testing of a newly developed portal for political party registration.

According to him, this was designed and built in-house by its Information and Communications Technology (ICT) department.

“As is the case with all our Information Technology (IT) innovations, the new portal has been demonstrated before the commission and approved for deployment,” he said.

He said that INEC was evaluating 144 letters of intent from political associations, including 10 new submissions received recently.

Parties setting up structures, strategies

Meanwhile, political parties are setting up structures and strategies for the 8 November Anambra governorship election.

For instance, the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Anambra chapter, inaugurated its campaign council on Friday ahead of the election in the state.

The ADC is a coalition of opposition politicians who have vowed to stop President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027.

John Nwosu, the ADC governorship candidate, who performed the inauguration of the campaign council, said the party would kick off its campaign on 9 August.

A few days ago, Jeff Nweke, the Action Alliance candidate in the governorship election, expressed worry over what he described as a “campaign of bitterness and mudslinging” among politicians in the state.

“Political campaigns should not be to malign or engage in character assassinations or unnecessary altercations with political opponents, but time to showcase our plans for the people.

“It is time to tell the people how you intend to tackle the problem of multiple taxation choking the masses, death and stagnating businesses, your plans for the education sector, welfare of the people and the state’s economy,” Mr Nweke said.

He said that his party has a very robust programme for rescuing Anambra from misrule and putting the state on the path of development and progress.

He said that although Mr Soludo was doing his best, he (Nweke) had a different approach to addressing the governance challenges in Anambra.

According to INEC, 16 political parties would participate in the Anambra governorship election.

Only two of the parties—the African Action Congress and the National Rescue Movement—nominated women as governorship candidates, while six parties nominated women as deputy governorship candidates.

Political analysts are predicting a win for the incumbent governor, Mr Soludo, who is running for a second term under the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance.