INEC: ELECTORATES CAN ONLY VOTE WITH PVCs NOT VOTER IDENTIFICATION NUMBER(VIN)
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC has made it known to electorates that they will not exercise their franchise without a visible permanent voter’s card, PVC.
The response comes in the wake of questions by electorates who lost their PVC’s but still have their Voter Identification Number, VIN which is an essential information needed for anyone to cast his or her vote.
Speaking exclusively to our correspondent UHUOTU OMILABU, INEC’s head of voter education and publicity in Akwa Ibom State, ODARO AISIEN maintained that despite having the VIN, it will still be impossible for electorates to vote without a visible card.
“These are things that in future, I’m sure will be looked into but just now, the law insists that your PVC is mandatory for voting. ”
“Section 47 of the electoral act, explicitly requires all voters to present their PVCs at polling units. So section 47 here is what is preventing non-PVC holders from voting. ”
The Akwa Ibom state INEC boss encouraged citizens to avail themselves of the extension of PVC collection dates to get their cards as there may be no other extension.
Recall that INEC had previously said it would end the PVC collection on January 22, 2023 having started the process on the 12th of December, 2022.
However, after deliberations, it announced a new deadline extending the PVC collection to the 29th of January, 2023.