INEC Closes Voter Registration, Begins Database Clean-up Ahead Of 2027 Elections

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has shut down the nationwide Continuous Voter Registration, CVR exercise and commenced the clean-up of its voter registration database in preparation for the 2027 general election.

The CVR, which ended on Sunday, 26 July 2026, was earlier extended by the Commission to give Nigerians who turned 18 and above more time to register and collect their Permanent Voter Cards, PVCs.

In a statement issued on Monday, the Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Mr. Adedayo Oketola, said the decision to end registration was to allow the Commission to tidy up the voter register and proceed with other activities on its 2027 timetable.

“The Commission decided to end the registration exercise to enable it to clean up the voter registration database and continue with other activities lined up for the conduct of the 2027 general election,” Oketola stated.

He assured that INEC would ensure all items on the 2027 election timetable are completed.

“The Commission will leave no stone unturned in ensuring that all activities contained in the timetable for the 2027 general election are completed.”

Oketola explained that suspending registration now aligns with the Electoral Act 2022, which mandates that voter registration and updates must stop at least 90 days before an election.

This, he said, will allow time for data clean-up, PVC production, and other logistics.

“The timeline is in line with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022, which requires voter registration, updates and revisions to the register to be suspended at least 90 days before an election to allow for data clean-up, the production of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), and other logistical preparations,” he said.

The INEC spokesman also called on political parties and other stakeholders to support preparations for 2027 and avoid actions that could derail the process.

“He appealed to political parties and other election stakeholders to refrain from engaging in any act that could undermine preparations for the 2027 general election.”

With the register now closed for updates, INEC says the next phase will focus on data deduplication, printing of PVCs, and finalizing the list of polling units ahead of the polls.