INEC to resume CVR June 28 ahead Anambra 2021 guber poll


After its temporary suspension on August 31st 2018 preparatory to the 2019 general elections, the independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Thursday declared that the nationwide Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) would recommence Monday 28th June 2020.
Chairman of the commission Prof Mahmood Yakubu who stated this at a press conference in Abuja said the exercise would span for one year ending on the third quarter of next year 2022.
He however said emphasis would be on Anambra state where more centres would be established in view of the governorship elections already scheduled Saturday 6 November 2021.


Yakubu said the CVR in Anambra will be suspended in August 2021, adding that this would enable the commission to clean up the data for the state and print the permanent voters cards (pvcs) for the registrants. 
“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. 
“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 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.”

Before the recommencement of the CVR, INEC chairman also said the expansion of voters access to polling units would be on 11th May 2021, building and testing the online registration portal 15th May 2021, arrival of the new generation of registration devices, the IVED 31st May 2021 as well as the recruitment and training of voters enrolment staff which takes place on 14th June 2021.
The INEC boss said those qualified for the exercise are all Nigerians who turned 18 years of age, any registered voter who had issues during accreditation at previous elections and all voters who wish to transfer their voting locations from their present one to another.
Other categories are all registered voters who have lost their pvcs or whose pvcs have been defaced or damaged and all registered voters who wish to correct their information such as names, date of birth and so on.  


The INEC chairman also stressed that the National Identification Number (NIN) would not be mandatory for the CVR but would only be one of the means of identification for those intending to register.
Other admissible means of identification, according to the INEC chairman, are birth certificate, drivers licence, international passport amongst others.  


He stated that the commission is migrating the Voter Enrolment Device (IVED) which is based on Android tablet, instead of the Direct Data Capture Machine (DDCM) which he said served the commission for over 10 years.
According to the INEC chairman, the CVR which was supposed to commence first quarter of 2021 as earlier promised was delayed due to three cardinal reasons namely, the establishment of new systems that would ensure safer CVR exercise in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. 


“In this regard, the commission is building a new online registration portal that would enable new registrants to commence registration online and subsequently complete the capture of their biometric data at designated registration centres. This is designed to reduce crowding.”


“The second reason is the Commission’s determination to expand voter access to Polling Units. In addition, many of the polling units are inaccessible to voters, especially Persons With Disability (PWDs), and are not conducive to implementing the commission’s election regulations, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. 
“Thirdly, the commission has decided to introduce a new voter registration equipment and technology. The present generation of voter registration equipment, which the Commission introduced in 2011, is the Direct Data Capture Machine (DDCM).” 

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