By EMMANUEL OLONIRUHA

Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is set to introduce “downloadable Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs)” for voters who have misplaced or defaced their original cards.

The INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, disclosed this when he received the Director-General of National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, who paid a courtesy visit to the commission’s headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday

Amupitan explained that the new technology was part of ongoing efforts to modernise Nigeria’s electoral processes ahead of the 2027 general elections.

According to him, the downloadable PVC option will not be automatic or open to firm-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 stated.

He further stated that affected voters must formally lodge a complaint at least 90 days before an election to enable the commission to process the replacement.

Amupitan said that the commission would pilot the downloadable PVC technology during the off-cycle Osun governorship election in August.

He also disclosed that INEC was finalising work on a technology that would allow eligible citizens 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.

Amupitan said that those advancements were aimed at eliminating the feeling of disenfranchisement among citizens and ensuring that everyone who desired to register could do so seamlessly. (NAN)

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