The recent announcement by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to extend the Continuous Voter Registration exercise nationwide has received widespread commendation. The extension, which ends on Friday, July 24, 2026, underscores the Commission’s commitment to ensuring that all qualified Nigerians have a fair and reasonable opportunity to be included in the Register of Voters before the 2027 elections.

Important to the success of future elections in Nigeria is a Register of Voters. The Register of Voters is the basis for determining who is eligible or not eligible to vote on election day. While the existing Register of Voters used in the 2023 General Elections served the purpose, it nonetheless has very profound shortcomings, one of which is the duplication of voters’ identities.

Consequently, with the 2027 General Election barely 150 days away, the Independent National Electoral Commission is prioritising the fundamental task of compiling a credible voter register, recognising that without an accurate and trustworthy register, the credibility of any election would be seriously undermined. In furtherance of this, the Commission announced the introduction of a self-service registration option (online) for eligible voters.

Yet, while the registration of voters remains one of the core mandates of the Commission, to ensuring that all qualified Nigerians are captured in the Register of Voters, it also raises other broader structural and logistics challenges: Will the registration of voters or the extension of the process solve the challenge of the two-stepped process of voter registration, where registrants will have to present themselves at crowded registration centres after completing the on-line processes? Has the Continuous Voter Registration (CRV) been able to bridge the gap between registration and issuance of the PVC? What currently obtains is that an eligible voter would register himself as a voter but would not be issued a PVC on the spot, as printing and issuance of the PVCs are centralized in Abuja, the FCT. Subsequently, the registrant would come back to collect his/her PVC after a certain period of time. This has made the process cumbersome. These deep-rooted structural challenges, highlighted among others, continue to sabotage democratic elections in Nigeria.

Now, it is imperative to state that registration is just the first stage of this mode, not the end goal. If INEC thinks that enrolling millions of new voters and printing PVCs will automatically deliver a free, fair, credible election in 2027, then we are heading for another vicious cycle of distrust, litigation, and an endemic future of voter apathy. Nigeria’s electoral experience since the advent of the Fourth Republic demonstrates that the deployment of technologies such as the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IREV), is not on its own adequately sufficient to guarantee credible elections. The 2023 presidential election made this reality even clearer. Although the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) introduced innovations such as the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) to improve transparency and efficiency, the election recorded a historic low voter turnout of just 26.72 percent for the presidential election. At the same time, public trust in the electoral process declined rather than improved.

Therefore, as the country prepares for the 2027 general election, INEC must recognise that the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise, important as it is, represents only one part of a much broader electoral reform agenda. A credible voter register is essential, but it cannot, by itself, deliver credible elections. This paper examines the ongoing CVR exercise and explores the four other critical pillars that will ultimately determine whether the 2027 elections mark a genuine step forward for Nigeria’s democracy or become yet another missed opportunity.

The Challenges of Rigging at Collation Centres and Over-Bloated Voter Register

There is no doubt that a sound voter registration system is crucial for a successful election. For a country to hold democratic elections, some form of voter identification is needed. However, previous experiences have taught us that elections in Nigeria are either won in the process of moving recorded votes from the polling units to the collation centres or at the collation centres where the recorded votes in the form EC8A are altered and announced in favour of specific interests.

Similarly, the voter register has become political and heavily politicised. Whether the register for identifying voters is based on a civil registry as in the case of Rwanda or independently generated through a voter registration process as in the case in Nigeria, what is more significant is not to have a bloated register that is made up of duplicated or underage voters. This is why politicians fight over Continuous Voter Registration (CRV) and may start “registering” voters and collecting their PVCs instead of buying votes on election day.

The Challenge of Institutional Trust Deficit

If there is one visible takeaway from the 2023 Presidential election, it is the challenge of trust deficit. Data from the 2023 Presidential election showed that voter turnout was 26.72%, the lowest since 1999. Many Nigerians cited “my vote won’t count” as a reason for staying home. In order to ensure a successful voter registration exercise, INEC would do well to generate, attract, and retain public confidence in the process. INEC should be ready to exorcise the demons of unnecessary burden of logistics that are always made to become the lot of willing registrants. Still talking about demons, INEC needs to assure Nigerians that reports of multiple registration, privatised registration centres, community-assisted registration process and underage voters are myths and not real. Democracy dies when citizens believe their votes do not count.

The Challenges of Crooked and Unscrupulous INEC Personnel

To promote electoral transparency and inspire confidence in the electoral process, the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IREV) and the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) were introduced as major signature reforms in 2020 and 2021, respectively.
They worked to a large extent. However, it was discovered that the problem was not the technology. It was human interference and the activities of some unscrupulous INEC staff. To date, INEC has not been able to explain the “technical glitches” experienced during the transmission of the 2023 Presidential election results. Currently, a recent video circulating online showed a man accusing INEC officials in Anambra State of demanding N2,000 before releasing his PVC. Examples are replete with how INEC officials have lived below board. While Technology does not guarantee maximum credibility at elections, the deliberate attempt to sabotage or not to use it guarantees fraud.

Logistics and Election Day Operations

According to the EU Elections Observation Missions (EOM), in 2023, 18 percent of polling units across the country did not open as scheduled and voting materials arrived late. In the same vein, INEC Ad hoc staff who were predominantly serving National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members were not only ill-trained but also unwilling to testify in court during litigation. The fact remains that the NYSC model for conducting elections as introduced by the erstwhile Chairman of INEC, Professor Attahiru Jega, is good but certainly not good enough.

What INEC Must Do Going Forward

The registration of voters is just the first stage of this mode. Achieving credible elections in 2027 is the goal. In furtherance of the Continuous Voter Registration, the Commission had also announced the introduction of a self-service registration option (online) for eligible voters. By creating this self-service option and expanding the registration space, INEC has sent very strong signals of its renewed commitment to achieving credible elections come 2027. However, be that as it may, it is pertinent to reiterate that the registration of voters is just the first stage of this mode. Achieving free, fair, credible future elections, starting with the 2027 General elections, is the goal.

To achieve free, fair, credible elections in 2027, INEC must go beyond voter registration and decisively address the four critical pillars mentioned above. This requires putting effective safeguards in place to checkmate electoral manipulations, particularly during the collation of results, thoroughly cleaning up the Register of Voters by removing all irregularities and ensuring that it contains only the records of eligible Nigerian voters, investing in the training, welfare and accountability of its personnel and in addition, ensuring that those found culpable of misconduct are prosecuted and above all, ensuring efficient logistics and seamless election day operations. Only by tackling these issues comprehensively can INEC restore public confidence and strengthen the integrity of the electoral process. Indeed, Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan (SAN), and his team have a window of 5 months to fix these challenges, secure the process, and educate the voter. Whether or not they believe it, 2027 has started, and it is about much more than the Continuous Voter Registration.