Nigeria’s electoral umpire addressed a news conference on 13 April to update the nation about its Continuous Voter Registration which began in June 2021.
The project by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is to ensure persons who turned 18 after the last voter registration in 2019 get the opportunity to register ahead of the 2023 General Election.
It is also a way to enable persons who had not registered to vote to do so, as well as let persons who wished to effect changes to their data do so.
The chairman of INEC, Professor Mahmood Yakubu disclosed that 1,014,382 people registered on the commission’s online portal, cvr.inecnigeria.org, and 1,509,076 others did so at physical registration centres across the country.
671,106 other people submitted requests to update their records, or transfer or replace their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).
The records which could need updating or correcting include the spelling of names, date of birth, or local government area of residence.
As a result of the new registrations, INEC has printed 1,854,859 new PVCs which will be distributed to its state offices in the coming days.
The new cards are categorised into:
- 1,390,519 PVCs for new registrants.
- And 464,340 for persons who applied for transfers, updates and/or card replacements.
They will be available to be picked up immediately after the Easter holidays.
Invalid Registrations
A total of 2,523,458 persons registered online or in-person, but only 1,390,519 cards were printed for distribution and collection.
This means that 1,132,939 cards were not printed.
Professor Yakubu said the number represents persons whose registrations were invalidated due to false data or multiple registrations.
“While the number of new registrants is very impressive and demonstrates the eagerness of Nigerians to vote in the forthcoming elections, the commission has a duty to clean up the register to ensure that only eligible Nigerians are added,” he told the news conference.
“As you are aware, the foundation for any credible election rests on the credibility of the register of the voters.”
The INEC chairman however admitted that the invalidated registrations may have been unknowledgeable.
All you need to know about the ongoing 3rd Quarter Nationwide Ward Level Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) ahead of #NigeriaDecides2023
— INEC Nigeria (@inecnigeria) March 17, 2022
Call INEC on: 0700-2255-4632https://t.co/nCwJlt7sQJ pic.twitter.com/Wqh072UOAc
“We also suspect that some of these invalid registrations may have arisen out of ignorance,” he said.
The electoral commission is now set to roll out a new campaign to educate expected registrants before its registration deadline.
The 1,854,859 new PVCs are for persons who registered between July and December 2021.
INEC is yet to print voter cards for persons who registered in 2022.
Remember, you can still register here.
