7 million Nigerians did not complete Online Voter Registration-INEC

Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC has said about 7 million Nigerians failed to finalize their online voter pre-registration process at the designated physical centers before the suspension of the Continuous Voter Registration on July 31. 

INEC said a total number of 12,298,944 persons completed their registration in July before the suspension of the CVR, of which 8,854,566 persons did their registration at the physical center, while 3,444,378 started their registration online and completed the process at a physical center.

What is the fate of these 7 million people?

INEC National Commissioner on Information and Voter Education, Mr. Festus Okoye, in a statement, explained that the seven million people were not captured in the record of completed voter registration, debunking the notion that the commission deliberately denied anyone the opportunity to complete their online pre-registration.

According to Mr. Okoye, a total number of 10,487,972 people commented on the online-registration process, but at the end of the July deadline, only about 3,444,378 Nigerians completed their pre-registration physically at the designated centers in line with the commission’s policy, while some 7,043,594 applicants did not complete their registration.

What else did INEC say?

The commission also revealed a breakdown of the 7,043,594 incomplete online pre-registration, which showed that about 4,161,775 people attempted but either did not complete online pre-registration or abandoned it and went for physical registration instead, while 2,881,819 people completed theirs but did not show up to complete their biometric capture at the designated centre before the deadline.

The INEC commissioner appealed to Nigerians to always adhere to the timeline and avoid eleventh-hour rush to meet deadlines.