INEC criticizes 20 million uncollected PVCs ahead of the 2023 election
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has expressed concern about the large number of uncollected Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs), which it estimates to be around 20 million.
Mohammed Haruna, the INEC National Commissioner for the Federal Capital Territory, Nasarawa, Kaduna, and Plateau States, announced this on Tuesday during the inauguration of a campaign to boost PVC collecting and participation in the ongoing continuous voter registration process.
In 2019, INEC records showed that over 84 million PVCs were printed, according to him.
Over 72 million voter cards were collected, according to the INEC Commissioner, while over 11 million were left uncollected.
The South-West had the most uncollected PVCs with over 3.4 million, followed by the North-West with over 1.9 million and the South-South with over 1.7 million, according to the figures.
While the North-Central had around 1.5 million uncollected voter’s cards, the South-East had over 1.4 million, the North-East had over 800,000, and the FCT had approximately 318,000.
“Ahead of the 2019 general elections, there were 84 million PVCs. I think close to 20 million (PVCs have not been collected),” he said.
“It may be a small percentage but in terms of absolute number, that’s huge. 20 million is probably more than the voters of so many West African countries put together.”
To shift the narrative, Nessaction, a civil society organization, is initiating a Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) and PVC collection campaign in the FCT and Nasarawa State in conjunction with INEC, the United Nations Development Programme, and YIAGA Africa.
INEC said in April that over 1.8 million new PVCs were ready for collection, including over 1.3 million cards for legitimate new registrants and 464,340 PVCs for confirmed applicants for card transfer or replacement.
