INEC to start distributing permanent voter cards on Friday

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that it will begin the distribution of permanent voter cards (PVCs) from Friday May 23, 2014 to Sunday, May 25, 2014 in 10 states in the first phase.

States to be covered in the first phase of the exercise are grouped along geopolitical lines, and they are Akwa Ibom and Bayelsa (South South), Enugu and Abia (South East), Benue and Kogi (North Central), Zamfara and Kebbi (North West), and Taraba and Gombe (North East).

In addition, the first phase of the continuous voter registration exercise will take place concomitantly in the above states from Wednesday May 28, 2014 to Sunday June 01, 2014.

In the second phase, the distribution of permanent voter cards will start from Friday July 18, 2014 to Sunday July 20,  2014, in Yobe and Bauchi (North East), Jigawa and Sokoto (North West), FCT and Kwara (North Central), Anambra and Ebonyi (South East), and Ondo and Oyo (South West).

Similarly, the continuous voter registration exercise will take place in these states from Wednesday July 23, 2014, to Sunday July 27, 2014.

In the final phase, the distribution of permanent voter cards will begin on Friday August 22, 2014, and end on Sunday August 24, 2014. The states to be captured in this phase of the exercise are: Adamawa and Borno (North East), Kaduna, Katsina and Kano (North West), Plateau, Nasarawa and Niger (North Central), Imo (South East), Lagos and Ogun (South West), and Edo and Rivers (South South).

Also, the continuous voter registration exercise will commence in the aforementioned states from Thursday August 28, 2014 to August 31, 2014.

INEC urged voters to cross-check their names in the displayed voter register, while those who registered before but do not see their names in the displayed register should re-register during the continuous voter registration exercise.

“The CVR exercise is not for those who wish to transfer. Those wishing to transfer should write to the Resident Electoral Commissioner in their new states of domicile, well before the election, as no transfer will be approved less than 30 days to the election,” the commission said.

It also implored those who have lost their cards or whose cards are damaged to apply for them to be replaced by writing to the REC through the INEC Electoral Officer of the Local Government Area where they registered for the replacement well before the election, as no replacement will be approved and no new card will be issued less than 30 days to the election.