The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced plans to introduce downloadable Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) for eligible voters and roll out a fully online voter registration system as part of efforts to modernise Nigeria’s electoral process ahead of the 2027 general elections.
INEC Chairman, Joash Amupitan, made the disclosure on Wednesday while receiving the Director-General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Lanre Issa-Onilu, during a courtesy visit to the commission’s headquarters in Abuja.
Amupitan explained that the downloadable PVC initiative is specifically designed for voters who have previously collected their PVCs but later lost or damaged them, or whose card details have become unreadable.
He clarified that the digital PVC option would not be available to first-time registrants who have never collected a physical card.
“It is not every PVC that is downloadable. You must have gotten your PVC before, and it must be that the PVC is lost, defaced or if you cannot read your numbers there,” he said.
According to the INEC Chairman, affected voters must report the loss or damage of their PVCs at least 90 days before an election to enable the commission to process the replacement.
He further revealed that the commission plans to pilot the downloadable PVC technology during the upcoming off-cycle Osun State governorship election scheduled for August.
Amupitan also announced that INEC is in the final stages of developing a technology that will enable eligible Nigerians to complete their voter registration entirely online without visiting INEC offices for physical biometric capture.
“We have also been working on the technology that is going to make it possible for the registration of voters online without even having to visit INEC local government or registration areas. So hopefully in the next few days, we will be testing it as soon as the commission approves it,” he said.
He noted that both innovations are aimed at making voter registration more accessible, reducing disenfranchisement, and ensuring that every eligible Nigerian can participate in the electoral process with ease.
Source: News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
