The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has delisted 1,126,359 newly registered voters ahead of the 2023 general elections.
The commission said that it also detected several double, multiple, and ineligible registrants and has consequently invalidated them, adding that these include entries that fail to meet the commission’s business rules.
This was disclosed in a statement on Tuesday by the INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye.
“As Nigerians are aware, the cleaning up of the register of voters using the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) is ongoing since the suspension of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) on 31st July 2022,” Okoye added.
“Earlier, the Commission informed Nigerians that out of the 2, 523,458 (Two million, five hundred and twenty-three thousand, four hundred and fifty-eight) fresh registrants that registered between 28th June 2021 and 14th January 2022, 1,126,359 (One million, one hundred and twenty-six thousand, three hundred and fifty-nine) records were found to be invalid and consequently delisted.”
He explained that the ABIS for 15th January to 31st July 2022 is almost completed, noting that “several double, multiple and ineligible registrants have also been detected and invalidated.
“These include entries that fail to meet the Commission’s business rules. The Commission takes this responsibility seriously because a credible register is at the heart of electoral integrity.”
According to him, INEC will display the voter register once the “process is concluded”.
“Thereafter, valid registrants will be added to the existing national register of voters before publishing same nationwide for scrutiny, claims, and objections by citizens as required by section 19 (1) of the Electoral Act 2022,” the INEC official said.
“We reassure Nigerians that a thorough process is being undertaken to clean up the registration data. Similarly, Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) for all valid registrants will be available for collection by the end of October/early November as promised.”