INEC to suspend online Continuous Voter Registration in May

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it will suspend its Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) on June 30.

This was disclosed on Wednesday, by the INEC chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu at the quarterly consultative meeting with Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in Abuja.

Yakubu said the suspension is to enable the commission to clean up the registration data, and print Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), among other arrangements ahead of the 2023 General Election.

He said, “As you are aware, the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise ends next month i.e. 30th June 2022. Both the online pre-registration as well as the physical registration at designated centres are taking place simultaneously.

“However, online pre-registrants would require time to schedule appointments to complete their registration physically at designated centres. For this reason, the Commission has decided to suspend the online registration in the next three weeks i.e. 30th May 2022,” he said.

“This will enable the online registrants to complete their registration physically at the designated centres before the exercise is suspended on 30th June 2022.

“This will enable the Commission to clean up the registration data, print the Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs), and compile the register ahead of the 2023 General Election.”

The INEC boss added that the commission has reviewed the performance of the recently introduced Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and hopes to enhance its capacity for the forthcoming governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun States.