The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said 10 associations have submitted letters of intent to register as political parties.

The commission also said 168,187 eligible voters registered in the just-concluded Continuous Voter Registration in Anambra State.

A statement issued yesterday in Abuja by the National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, reads: “The commission held its regular weekly meeting today, Thursday, July 24, 2025. In continuation of the Commission’s preparations for the off-cycle governorship election in Anambra State, the meeting received the final report on the Continuous Registration of Voters (CVR), followed by a presentation by the ICT Department on the portal for party registration.

“As earlier announced by the Commission, the CVR scheduled to end on July 17, 2025, was extended to 20th July 2025, following appeals by citizens.

“The final figure of new registrants is 168,187, which is the highest number recorded in two weeks in Anambra State since the introduction of the CVR ahead of the governorship election in 2017.

“Although these are preliminary figures pending data clean-up, the detailed breakdown shows that 97,832 (58 per cent) are female while 70,355 (42 per cent) are male.

“In terms of age, 90,763 (53.97 per cent) are young people aged 18-34, while the occupational distribution shows that 62,157 (36.92 per cent) are businessmen/women, while 44,243 (26.31 per cent) are students. In terms of Persons with Disability (PWDs), 303 (24.92 per cent) have physical impediment, followed by 207 (17.02 per cent) with albinism. The detailed breakdown has been uploaded to our website and other platforms for public information.

“The immediate next step is to display the preliminary register of new voters for claims and objections by citizens who are the ultimate owners of the register. This will take place in all the 326 Wards in Anambra State from Saturday, July 26, 2025, to Friday, August 1, 2025.

“Once this process is concluded, including the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS), the new registrants will be added to the existing register and published on a Polling Unit basis ahead of the election.

“Thereafter, the commission will announce the dates and locations for the collection of the Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) for new registrants and those who applied for transfer or replacement of their lost or damaged cards. The PVCs from previous registration will also be available for collection.

“With 105 days to the election, the commission is aware of the tight timelines but we wish to reassure all new registrants in Anambra State that their PVCs will be available for collection ahead of the election”.

Giving an update on political party registration, the commission said: “In our last press release, we assured Nigerians that we are finalising the necessary tests on the party registration portal designed and built in-house by our ICT officials.

“As is the case with all our IT innovations, the new portal has been demonstrated before the Commission and approved for deployment.

“The commission is evaluating all the numerous letters of intent received so far to determine the associations that meet the requirements to proceed to the application stage. A report is expected at our next regular meeting.

“Meanwhile, the commission has received 10 more letters of intent from associations seeking registration as political parties, bringing the number so far to 144.

“The details of the new associations, including their names, acronyms, logos, addresses, and interim leadership, are published on our website and other platforms for public information.

“We will continue to update Nigerians on all our activities.” (The Nation)