The Independent National Electoral Commission met with stakeholders in Katsina on Friday to discuss modalities for a successful continuous voter registration.

Speaking, INEC commissioner Yahaya Makarfi said the meeting is aimed at discussing key areas like crowd management, voter education, and logistics with local leaders and party representatives.

“This meeting was called to identify faults and areas to improve, especially in terms of efficiency and general delivery on the conduct of a hitch-free CVR exercise,” he said.

According to him, the exercise began on August 18.

“We are bound to continue this exercise. You will recall that this was suspended in 2022, leading to the 2023 general elections. The commission has actually been circulating information on the resumption of this CVR exercise. Therefore, we saw the need to engage with our stakeholders at the state level.

“We have had various engagements with all our stakeholders at each of the local government levels, with the idea to rub minds and share ideas,” he said.

Also, Ibrahim Hashim, the INEC head of department for voter education, publicity, gender, and inclusivity, said as of the end of the last CVR, Katsina has more than 3.5 million registered voters.

“The CVR 2025, which began on August 18, will end on August 30. Let us bear in mind that the exercise is not a general registration but a continuation from that of 2011.

“The CVR exercise is a window of opportunity for the citizens who turned 18 years after the last voter registration and citizens who, for one reason or another, could not register in the previous exercise, especially citizens who returned from the diaspora,” Mr Hashim said.

According to him, aside from voter registration, CVR handles incidents such as the transfer of registered voters from one delimitation to another, from one state to another, from one registration area to another, or from one polling unit to another.

He further explained that the exercise will also update the permanent voter card, correcting, adding to, or subtracting from the name and date of birth.

Mr Hashim noted that the replacement of PVC, in the event of loss, defacement, damage, or destruction, will be taken care of during the exercise period.

The INEC official revealed that CVR shall be carried out at the state office and the 34 council offices of the commission.

According to Mr Hashim, failure by a registrant to undergo biometric capture after online registration at the state or LGA offices results in an invalid registration.

Some of the stakeholders include representatives of the CSOs, people with special needs, security agencies, and political parties, among others.

(NAN)