The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is to provide 396 Direct Data Capturing Machines (DDCMs) for 203 Registration Areas during the upcoming Continuous Voters Registration (CVR) exercise in Ondo State. Olusegun Agbaje, the Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state, made this known on Wednesday at a CVR Stakeholders forum.

Agbaje said the DDCMs would be made available at the 193 voting points in the state. According to him, the exercise will take place in the state between June 22 and June 26. Agbaje added that to make it a success, 792 Assistant Registration Officers, made up of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members and INEC staff would handle the machines.

The REC said the essence of the exercise was to enable those that attained 18 years after the last CVR exercise to register and obtain their Permanent Voter’s Card. “The commission is aware of the fact that some people will want to take advantage of the opportunity provided by the exercise to perpetrate actions that contravene registration of voters.

“It should be noted that the commission will not hesitate to bring the full weight of the law on any offender during the exercise in line with the Electoral Act, 2010, as amended,’’ he said. Clement Faboyede, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman in the state, said he was happy that INEC would provide the machine in every ward.

Faboyede said his party would mobilise and encourage people in the state to register. Mr Korede Duyile, the Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), said he was impressed with the forum. Duyile said people in the state were excited about the CVR exercise because they would vote for a new governor. The Ondo State governorship election would hold on Nov. 26.