As a prelude to the chairmanship elections scheduled for March 19, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will commence Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) from January 13 to 17.
The exercise will take place in all the 62 Registration Centres/Wards and other approved locations across the FCT.
The CVR will begin at the Registration Centre/Wards at 9 a.m. and end at 4 p.m on each of the five-day exercise.
The last day for Claims And Objections shall be on Monday, January 18.
To be eligible for the Continous Voter Registration Exercise, a person:
(a.) must be a citizen of Nigeria;
(b.) must have attained the age of 18 years, on or before the registration day;
(c.) is 18 years or above and could not register during the last registration exercise;
(d.) is resident, works in, or originates from the LGA/Area Council or RA/Ward covered by the Registration Area Centre;
(e.) not subject to any legal incapacity to vote under any law, rules or regulations in force in Nigeria;
(f.) must present himself/herself to the CVR Officers for registration and is able to provide proof of identity, age and nationality, if requested;
(g.) has registered before but his/her name/photograph/finger-prints were not captured; such a person MUST provide his/her Temporary Voter Card (TVC).
CVR GUIDING PRINCIPLES
The registration process is based on the following:
(a.) CVR is done in person and not by proxy:
Anyone who wishes to register must appear in person at the CVR Centre for registration. There is no registration by proxy.
(b.) Multiple registration is not allowed:
A voter can only register once and in one Registration Centre. If the voter has residence in more than one constituency, he/she must choose only one location to register.
(c.) Registration is a pre-requisite for voting in elections:
Registration is a pre-requisite for exercising the right to vote. Those whose names are not in the Register of Voters shall not be allowed to vote on Election Day.
(d.) CVR is inclusive:
Voting is a constitutional right for all eligible citizens. The Register of Voters must include as many eligible citizens as possible and registration centres must be accessible to all qualified persons.
(e.) Registration is done in public:
Registration is conducted in public and in the open; in order to be accredited, national and international observers, party agents as well as representatives of media organisations.
DISPLAY OF PRELIMINARY REGISTER OF VOTERS (PRV)
After the CVR exercise, the Preliminary Register of Voters (PRV) shall be displayed for public scrutiny at designated Centres. The Registration Officers (ROs) will print the list of registered voters daily and display at designated centres for a specified period. The Register shall be clearly marked Preliminary Register of Voters.
Verification of registered voters – via website and SMS
There are two methods in which a voter can check his/her status namely:
· Web-based platform; and
· Mobile phone, using SMS.
WEB-BASED PLATFORM
(a.) Select the State you registered
(b.) Type the last Name on your Vote Card
(c.) Type the last five digits of your VIN
After typing the above on the ‘e-Voter Status Platform System’, click on ‘Check Status’.
MOBILE PHONE, USING SMS:
You can also check your voter status by sending an SMS with your State, Last name, Voter Identification Number (VIN) to 081-7164-6879. Thus: State, Last name, VIN. E.g: Bayelsa, James, 30750. A response would be sent to your phone within 15 minutes
During the exercise, the following information shall be demanded of each eligible registrant by INEC officials.
They are:
(i.) The registrant’s name;
(ii.) The registrant’s age;
(iii.) The registrant’s gender;
(iv.) The registrant’s occupation;
(v.) Address within the area;
(vi.) The registrant’s phone number and or e-mail address (Optional);
(vii.) The registrant’s photograph;
(viii.) The name of State where registration is taking place;
(ix.) The name of Local Government Area/Area Council of registration;
(x.) Name and Code number of the registration unit;
(xi.) The registrant’s ten fingerprints; and
(xii.) National Identity Number (If available, though not necessary).
