A coalition of accredited election observers has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission to extend the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration exercise, which is scheduled to end tomorrow.
The group, in a statement issued on Friday night, warned that ending the exercise abruptly would leave millions of Nigerians disenfranchised as many have yet to be captured in the voters’ register.
According to the observers, despite INEC’s efforts, the registration has been hampered by several challenges, including inadequate publicity, weak mobilisation by political parties and civil society organisations, and logistics setbacks in some parts of the country. They noted that these shortcomings had slowed down the process and made it difficult for many, especially first-time voters, to register before the deadline.
They raised concerns over the low turnout recorded in some states, particularly Ondo in the South-West and several others in the South-East, attributing the situation to late mobilisation and technical hitches at registration centres. The group cautioned that shutting down the exercise at this stage would exclude a large number of eligible Nigerians from participating in the next general elections.
“Voter registration is the foundation of credible elections,” the observers declared. “INEC must not allow preventable constraints to deny Nigerians, especially the youth and those in underserved regions, the opportunity to be part of the democratic process.”
The coalition added that extending the CVR would address issues arising from network failures, system breakdowns and limited registration centres. They maintained that such a move would also enhance the credibility of the electoral process by ensuring broader participation.
They therefore appealed to INEC to extend the exercise by at least two weeks, arguing that doing so would demonstrate the Commission’s commitment to inclusivity, fairness and wide citizen participation in the democratic process.