The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said that 265,432 Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) had yet to be claimed in Delta.

The Administrative Secretary of INEC in the state, Mrs Rose Orianran-Anthony, made the disclosure on Thursday in Asaba during the electoral body’s consultative meeting with political parties.

Orianran-Anthony said that 135,897 PVCs were unclaimed in 2014/2015 registration period and 129,525 PVCs were uncollected from the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR).

She said that the uncollected cards should really be a cause of concern for all parties as critical stakeholders and beneficiaries of the electoral process.

The INEC scribe said that “as a commission, we believe that your vote is your power, and to that extent, you have to get your PVC’’.

She appealed to the political parties to do all that was legally necessary to ensure that the people were mobilised to go and pick up their cards.

She said that INEC was not relenting on its part to initiate processes that would make it easier for people to do so by simplifying the processes of collection.

Orianran-Anthony also advised political parties to conduct peaceful and democratic primaries that would be devoid of rancour when the primaries hold between Aug. 18 and Oct. 7.

She noted that the arbitrary habit of substituting winners in party primaries against the will of party faithful should be discouraged.

The scribe said that the commission had warned that if political parties did not desist from that, it would embarrass the ones defaulting by naming them publicly in the media. (NAN)