The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Thursday rejected the mandatory use of National Identity Number (NIN) for the Continuous Voter Registration for the 2023 general election.
The INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, who disclosed this at a media briefing in Abuja, said the exercise would begin in the 774 Local Government Areas of the country on June 28.
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The INEC chairman also explained why the exercise did not begin in 2020 as earlier scheduled.
Yakubu said: “The NIN is not going to be mandatory for the simple reason that we are operating on the basis of the law establishing INEC. Section 10 of the Electoral Act lists the means of identification to be presented by prospective registrants for the purpose of registration.
“These include birth certificate, national passport, national identity card, or any other documents that will prove the identity, age, and nationality of the applicants. The NIN is only one of the means of identification provided for under section 10 (2) of the Electoral Act.
We can’t single that out and make it mandatory. All the other requirements are requirements of the law and we must apply the law equally. Yes, if you have your national ID card, you can present it during registration but we will not make it mandatory means of identification for the exercise.
“The Continuous Voter Registration could not recommence in 2020 due largely to the COVID – 19 pandemic. In line with the general advice by health officials regarding events involving large groups of people, we considered it inauspicious to restart the CVR at the height of the pandemic. In the light of the pandemic, the commission promised the nation that it would recommend the CVR in the first quarter of 2021.
The first quarter of 2021 ended on Wednesday and obviously, the commission was unable to restart the CVR exercise. In consideration of these challenges and the measures we have taken to overcome them, the commission is now in a position to announce Monday, June 28, 2021, as the date for the recommencement of the CVR exercise nationwide.