INEC registers over 1.5 million voters in ongoing CVR exercise

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has announced that 1,565,873 Nigerians have successfully registered in the ongoing Phase III Continuous Voter Registration, CVR, exercise as of June 26.

According to figures released by the commission, 620,933 applicants completed the online pre-registration process, while 944,940 registered physically at designated centres across the country.

INEC, however, noted that the figures remain provisional, pending a comprehensive data clean-up during the period for public claims and objections, after which the Automated Biometric Identification System, ABIS, will be deployed to eliminate multiple or invalid registrations.

The commission’s state-by-state breakdown showed that Kano recorded the highest number of registrants with 118,207, followed by Lagos with 78,360 and Delta with 76,395.

INEC also disclosed that voter registration was temporarily suspended in Ekiti and Osun states in line with the provisions of the Electoral Act ahead of the governorship elections in the two states.

According to the commission, women accounted for 821,276 registrants, representing 52.45 per cent of the total, while men made up 744,597, representing 47.55 per cent.

The commission further stated that young people between the ages of 18 and 34 accounted for the highest number of registrations, with 1,082,985 registrants.

Students emerged as the largest occupational group, with 384,093 registrations, while 18,919 Persons with Disabilities, PWDs, also registered during the exercise.

INEC urged eligible Nigerians who are yet to register to take advantage of the online pre-registration portal and the designated registration centres nationwide before the exercise closes.