The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has fixed 31 July, 2022 as the deadline for the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise.
The decision followed an extraordinary session held by the Commission today to discuss, among other things, the suspension of the ongoing CVR exercise.
This was contained in a press release by the INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye Esq.
He announced that the CVR has been extended for another two weeks, till Sunday, 31 July, 2022, thereby bringing the total duration of the extension to 31 days (from 1 to 31 July, 2022).
“The exercise has also been extended to eight hours daily from 9.00am – 5.00pm instead of the current duration of six hours (9.00am – 3.00pm) daily; and
“The exercise is also extended to include weekends (Saturdays and Sundays) as against only weekdays,” the INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee added.
Okoye, in the statement said the decision was taken as a result of a court judgment which, on Wednesday, affirmed that INEC is at liberty to choose a date to suspend the CVR exercise.
He said the court judgment was with the proviso that the action of the electoral is not later than 90 days before the date fixed for the general election, as provided in Section 9(6) of the Electoral Act 2022.
“With the judgement of the Federal High Court, all legal encumbrances have now been removed. Accordingly, the Commission has taken the following decisions;
“We appreciate that the time-frame may be tight for many prospective registrants, but there is a lot that the Commission is required to do under the electoral legal framework in relation to voter registration and compilation of the register that will require time to accomplish.
“For instance, the Commission is required to: Clean-up of the register to remove multiple registrants using the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS);
“Consolidate the national register of voters (existing voters and new registrants) and display same on Polling Unit basis for each of the 8,809 Registration Areas (Wards) across the 774 local government areas nationwide for public scrutiny. This lasts for a period of one week.
“On the basis of a new projection of 95 million voters, on the basis of 10 voters per page, the Commission has to print 9,500,000 pages for the display;
“Print millions of Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) for all fresh registrants and applicants for transfer and replacement of lost or damaged PVCs;
“Ensure that there is ample time for voters to collect their PVCs ahead of the 2023 General Election;
“Print the final register of voters in triplicate for the 2023 general election involving a projected 28,500,000 pages for accreditation and display at 176,846 polling units for national elections (Presidential and National Assembly) on 25 February, 2023 and State elections (Governorship and State Assembly) on 11 March 2023; and
“Make copies of the updated national register of voters available to political parties not later than 30 days to the date fixed for the General Election,” Okoye stated.
He therefore appealee for the patience and understanding of all Nigerians, declaring that the CVR will resume after the 2023 general election.
