The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) commenced Continuous Voter Registration exercise on Monday, June 28. Those that INEC requires to participate in this exercise are as follows:
- Nigerian citizens who have attained the age of 18 years and not previously registered;
- Registered voters who have encountered challenges with their Permanent Voter’s Cards (PVC) or their fingerprints not being read by the Smart Card Reader;
- Registered voters who want to effect a transfer of their voting locations;
- Registered voters who want to effect changes to their personal details;
- Registered voters whose PVCs are lost or defaced/damaged.
The last CVR exercise commenced in April 2017 and ended in August 2018, in the lead-up to the 2019 general elections. It was scheduled to resume in the first quarter of 2020 but was suspended following the COVID-19 pandemic. Subsequently, it was scheduled for the first quarter of 2021 but was rescheduled for June 2021 owing to some of INEC’s planned activities which were to precede the exercise, including the expansion of voter access to polling units, which resulted in the creation of over 58,000 polling units. The CVR exercise is expected to go on till August 2022.
The exercise is in two parts: online pre-registration process on a dedicated registration portal and offline bio-metric capture at designated registration centres. Eligible Nigerians can commence their registration process online and make an appointment to visit an INEC State or Local Government office to have their biometrics captured to complete the process. However, citizens who do not have access to the internet can opt to have the entire registration process done at a designated registration centre. Registration centres can be found at INEC State offices, INEC Local Government offices and mobile registration points all accounting for 2,673 registration centres nationwide. Already registered voters who want to carry out other activities such as transfer and replacement of damaged/defaced or lost PVCs and correction of personal details, can opt to do so online.
Speaking at a quarterly consultative meeting with civil society organisations (CSOs), INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu stated that the Commission would be deploying 5,346 staff to the registration centres. He also spoke about a new registration device, the ‘INEC Voter Enrolment Device’ (IVED), which will replace the old, laptop-based Direct Data Capture Machine (DDCM) for the registration exercise. The Chairman also expressed security concerns over the exercise and stated that the Commission resolved to adopt a graduated approach to the exercise by commencing with online registration and proceeding to extend the exercise to its State and Local Government offices, after assessing the security situation. Eventually, the Commission will deploy staff to all 2,673 registration centres nationwide. It will be recalled that there have been a series of attacks on INEC’s facilities in recent times, particularly in the South East and the South Western parts of the country. This raised serious concern among observers and election stakeholders on a general note and particularly with the CVR exercise. With dwindling voter turnout in recent elections, eligible Nigerians are enjoined to register to vote and fully participate in the electoral process. However, it is imperative that voters, electoral staff and equipment are secure throughout the process.