The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that 1,906,390 Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), representing 81.50 per cent of registered voters in Osun State, have been collected ahead of Saturday’s governorship election.
The commission disclosed this in a statement issued on Thursday by Mohammed Kudu Haruna, National Commissioner and Chairman of INEC’s Information and Voter Education Committee.
According to the commission, Osun State has a total of 2,339,233 registered voters, while 432,843 PVCs, representing 18.50 per cent of the total number of registered voters, remain uncollected.
INEC said the uncollected PVCs had been safely deposited with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in line with its established procedure.
The commission said the figures represented the final PVC collection status ahead of the Osun State governorship election scheduled for Saturday, August 15, 2026.
“Out of the total of 2,339,233 registered voters in the state, 1,906,390 PVCs, representing 81.50 per cent, have been collected,” INEC said.
“The remaining 432,843 PVCs, representing 18.50 per cent, have been safely deposited with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in line with the Commission’s established practice.”
INEC also disclosed that some registered voters whose PVCs were damaged, defaced or lost had applied for replacement cards ahead of the election.
The commission said 6,101 persons among those who applied for replacement had printed downloadable copies of their PVCs.
It further stated that a polling-unit-by-polling-unit breakdown showing the number of collected PVCs had been published on its official website.
The electoral body also used the opportunity to reassure political parties, civil society organisations, the media and residents of Osun State that it was fully prepared for Saturday’s election.
INEC said it remained committed to conducting an election that would be free, fair, credible, transparent and inclusive.
“The Commission reassures political parties, civil society organisations, media, and the good people of Osun State of its total readiness to conduct a free, fair, credible, transparent, and inclusive election on Saturday, 15th August 2026,” the statement added.
The Osun governorship election is expected to attract voters from across the state as political parties and their candidates make a final push to secure the mandate of the electorate.
With more than 1.9 million PVCs already collected, attention will now shift to voter turnout, the effectiveness of election-day logistics, security arrangements and the ability of INEC to ensure that the votes cast by eligible voters are properly counted and reflected in the final result.