INEC records over 3 million new voters as first registration quarter ends

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has disclosed that it has registered over 3 million fresh voters within 12 weeks since the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise kicked off.

According to the commission, about 1.4million Nigerians have also applied for voter transfer, replacement of PVCs and update of their voter information records.
Giving a breakdown of the figures, INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information & Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye in a statement on Monday disclosed that completed registrations now stands at 1,081,947 voters while youths between the ages of 18 and 34 still constitute the majority with 771,770 (71.33%) completed registration.

Okoye added that in terms of occupation, students form the largest category with 439,608 (40.63%), while gender distribution, 555,872 (51.38%) are male and 526,075 (48.62%) are female.

He said the detailed figures for Week 12 as of 7am today Monday, 20th September 2021 have been uploaded to the Commission’s website and social media platforms for public information.

According to Okoye, as provided by Section 19 (1) of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended), the Commission is mandated to publish the register of voters for a period of not less than 5 days and not more than 14 days for public scrutiny during which citizen may make claims and objections

“In compliance with the law, the register of new voters will be displayed in the Local Government offices of the Commission nationwide from 24th – 30th September 2021. The aim is to enable citizens assist the Commission by identifying ineligible registrants on the list ahead of the cleaning up of the register before adding the fresh registrants to the current register and the printing of their Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) for future elections. For clarity, ineligible registrants include foreigners and Nigerians below the age of 18. Nigerians should also assist the Commission to identify multiple registrants and deceased persons so that they can be removed from the register.

The Commission also appealed to Nigerians for sustained cooperation and support in our determination to conduct free and fair elections of which a credible register of voters is the foundation.

The Second Quarter of the exercise, according to Okoye begins on 4th October and ends on 20th December, adding that further details will be announced by the Commission before the commencement of the exercise.