2023: INEC Announces Date To Resume Continuous Voter Registration

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Thursday, announced that the continuous voter registration (CVR) exercise will resume by June 28, 2021.

According to the INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu who made the announcement during a press conference in Abuja, the exercise will be done nationwide and will continue till the first quarter of 2022.

He noted that the registration will be done in line with COVID-19 guidelines and protocols.

Yakubu however pointed out that Anambra State will be given priority attention at the moment because of the governorship election coming up in the state.

Naija News reports that INEC has scheduled the Anambra governorship election for Saturday, 6th November 2021.

“Effective from Monday 28th June 2021, the CVR exercise will commence nationwide and carried out continuously for over a year until the third quarter of 2022,” he said.

“However, emphasis will initially be on Anambra State where more centres will be established in view of the governorship election already scheduled for Saturday, 6th November 2021.

“In order to complete preparations for the governorship election, the CVR exercise in the state will be temporarily suspended in August 2021. This will enable the commission to clean up the data for the state and print the PVCs (permanent voter cards) for registrants.

“As time goes on, the commission will provide more details on the CVR exercise, particularly the innovations that will ensure a safe and stress-free experience for registrants. In doing so, we will fully consult stakeholders. In fact, the first in the series of these consultations will take place after the Easter break.”

The INEC boss called on those who are eligible to vote but have not registered to vote, to take advantage of the voter registration about to resume and get their PVCs so as to be able to fulfil their civic responsibilities.

Meanwhile, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says human rights abuses under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari are worse than under the military regime of late General Sani Abacha.

The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, said this to The PUNCH on Wednesday while reacting to a report titled ‘2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices,’ released by the US Department of State on Tuesday.

Ologbondiyan applauded the US government for the report, saying that every Nigerian knows that the present administration is guilty of rights abuses.