The Independent National Electoral Commission in Plateau State has expressed concern over the low turnout of registered voters collecting their Permanent Voters’ Cards. According to Resident Electoral Commissioner Mohammed Sadiq, despite widespread sensitisation efforts, many registered voters have not collected their PVCs. Sadiq noted that the commission had made significant efforts to ensure that PVCs were available for collection, but the response has been disappointing.
In the last three months, only 1,004 out of over 101,000 registered voters collected their PVCs, representing a 0.09% collection rate. Sadiq urged registered voters to collect their PVCs, emphasizing that it is a crucial step in participating in future elections. The commission announced the timeline for outstanding activities, including the display of the preliminary register from December 15 to 21, 2025, and the handling of complaints on December 21, 2025.
The INEC REC identified two major challenges faced by the commission: uncollected PVCs and incomplete registrations. He encouraged registrants to take advantage of the display of the preliminary register to check for errors and make necessary corrections. The second phase of continuous voter registration will commence on January 5, 2026. Sadiq thanked stakeholders, including traditional rulers, local government councils, and the media, for their support and urged them to continue mobilizing citizens to participate in the electoral process.
The continuous voter registration exercise commenced on August 18, 2025, with online pre-registration, followed by in-person registration on August 25, 2025. The registration and production of an accurate voter register are fundamental anchors of the electoral system. According to Section 10 of the Electoral Act 2022, the Commission is mandated to conduct voter registration on a continuous basis. The first phase of the continuous registration will end on December 10, 2025.
The stakeholders’ meeting was attended by officials of political parties, heads of security agencies, government agencies, religious and community leaders, among others. Sadiq commended the stakeholders for their support, which has yielded a positive result, with 76,451 applications received in the last three months, including 25,290 new registrations. The commission will continue to work towards ensuring a free, fair, and credible electoral process in 2027, and the active participation of citizens is crucial to achieving this goal.