INEC open one other technique for voting In 2027 Elections
The Impartial Nationwide Electoral Fee (INEC) has expressed its willingness to permit eligible Nigerians with out Everlasting Voter Playing cards (PVCs) to vote within the upcoming 2027 common elections.
Nonetheless, the fee emphasised that such a transfer would require legislative amendments to the present authorized framework.
Chatting with Punch on Wednesday, the Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, confirmed the fee’s dedication to increasing voter entry via using know-how.
Nonetheless, he pressured that any shift from the present PVC-only system would should be supported by applicable legislative adjustments.
“It isn’t our stand-alone that’s necessary. Equally essential is what the subsisting regulation says. Whereas the fee is favourably disposed to the advice by stakeholders (that PVCs alone shouldn’t be the one criterion for voting at an election), the regulation must be amended to mirror it,” Oyekanmi stated.
The push for a extra inclusive voter accreditation course of follows remarks made by INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, throughout a quarterly consultative assembly with Resident Electoral Commissioners in December 2024.
Yakubu highlighted the growing function of know-how, particularly the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), in enhancing the electoral course of.
Naija Information reviews that he identified that whereas PVCs will stay legitimate for voters who possess them, future elections might permit voters to make use of slips generated by INEC or downloaded from its official web site for accreditation.
This, he argued, would scale back prices, ease logistical challenges, and tackle the issue of PVC misuse.
“The fee additionally believes that with the introduction of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, using the Everlasting Voters’ Playing cards as the only real technique of identification for voter accreditation on Election Day ought to be reviewed.
“Those that have already got the PVCs can nonetheless use them to vote, however going ahead, computer-generated slips issued to the voter and even downloaded from the Fee’s web site will suffice for voter accreditation. This won’t solely save price, however it is going to additionally get rid of the problems across the assortment of PVCs and the diabolical observe of shopping for up the playing cards from voters to be able to disenfranchise them,” Yakubu defined.
