By Nkechi Eze
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced a three-day extension of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise in Anambra State, following appeals from citizens and stakeholders. The Commission, which held its regular weekly meeting on Thursday, 17th July 2025, made the decision as part of its ongoing preparations for the forthcoming off-cycle governorship election in the state.
In a statement signed by the National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, INEC expressed satisfaction with the level of public participation in the exercise, which commenced across the 326 registration centres in Anambra. According to the Commission, a total of 96,085 new voters have been registered in just nine days, averaging over 10,600 registrations per day.
Beyond new registrations, INEC disclosed that 12,595 voters applied for transfers of their registration either within or outside Anambra State, while another 7,061 persons requested updates to their personal information or replacement of lost or damaged Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).
The CVR, initially scheduled to end on 17th July, will now continue until Sunday, 20th July 2025. INEC noted that the extension aims to give more eligible citizens the opportunity to participate in the electoral process ahead of the upcoming election.
Following the conclusion of the registration, the Commission will display the preliminary register of voters for claims and objections as required by law. This will be followed by a clean-up of the data using the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) to eliminate multiple or invalid entries. INEC further stated that a detailed breakdown of the new registrants by age, gender, occupation, and disability will be made public in due course.
At this preliminary stage, INEC revealed that 56,017 new registrants, representing 58 percent, are female, while 50,429, or 52.48 percent, are young people between the ages of 18 and 34. These figures, the Commission noted, reaffirm the growing enthusiasm of Nigerian youths and women to participate in the democratic process.
In a related development, INEC disclosed that it has received five additional letters of intent from associations seeking registration as political parties. This brings the total number of applications received so far to 134. The proposed names, acronyms, logos, addresses, and interim leadership of the new associations have been published on the Commission’s website and official platforms for public scrutiny.
INEC reaffirmed its commitment to transparency and pledged to continue keeping the public informed about all aspects of its operations and decisions as Nigeria’s electoral process evolves.
