MAKURDI – The National Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) says it will commence the issuance of the permanent voters cards (PVC) in ten states of the federation.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner in Benue, Alhaji Baba Yusuf, told journalists on Tuesday that the issuance of the cards would be between May 23 to May 25 while the continuous voters’ registration (CVR) would hold between May 28 and June 1.
He said the commencement of the two exercises were a prelude to the 2015 general elections.
Yusuf explained those eligible to register in the CVR included those who were not up to 18 years as at 2011 and those who were unable to register during the last exercise.
“Those who had problems with the direct data capture (DDC) machines and were not captured during the 2011 registration exercise as well as those who could not register in 2011 for one reason or the other can also register this year,” he said.
The REC advised voters to ensure that their names were in the register of voters during CVR, adding that it was the only guarantee for them to vote during election.
He said that the registration and display of the names of registered voters would be done simultaneously to enable voters check and verify if their names were captured correctly.
“If a voter wants to verify whether his or her name is in the voter register during the period of the CVR, all he or she needs to do is to check from the registration centre or the ward nearest to where he or she registered in 2011.
“Furthermore, those who registered in any part of the country do not need to register again as they only need to transfer their cards by applying to the REC through the electoral officers of their local government areas where they reside,” Yusuf said.
He said that addendum/ manual register would not be used in 2015 general elections and advised the electorates to ensure that their names were in the electronic register.
Yusuf said only those with the permanent voters cards would be allowed to vote in the coming elections.(NAN)
