'No Extension' - INEC Sets July 26 Deadline for Voter Registration

‘No Extension’ – INEC Sets July 26 Deadline for Voter Registration
Commission says no extension is planned despite opposition parties’ concerns.
INEC will verify registrations before publishing the provisional voters’ register.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has insisted that the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise will end on Sunday, July 26, 2026, urging eligible Nigerians who are yet to register to take advantage of the remaining hours before the deadline.

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EKO HOT BLOG reports that the commission’s position comes amid calls from some opposition political parties for an extension of the registration exercise over concerns that millions of eligible citizens could be excluded from participating in the 2027 general elections.

However, INEC National Commissioner, Mohammed Haruna, said the commission would not extend the deadline, explaining that the registration process must close to allow the electoral body to begin cleaning and processing the data collected.

Speaking in an interview with Punch, Haruna said INEC’s Information Technology team and the Voter Registration Department would immediately begin processing the data after the registration window closes.

He explained that the commission would deploy its Automated Biometric Identification System to identify and remove multiple registrations before displaying the provisional voters’ register for public scrutiny.

According to him, the final number of newly registered voters would only be determined after the biometric verification process and the period for claims and objections had been completed.

He said, “By midnight on Sunday, voter registration ends. There won’t be any extension. There are so many things that we need to do at the back end. We have to draw a line; otherwise, we won’t be able to produce a clean copy of what has been posted.

“We have this automatic biometric system that will check whether somebody has registered more than once. They will publish the register for claims and objections. That is, if anybody thinks a name shouldn’t be on the register, or if he has some claims, for instance, that his name has been omitted or some of his details are incorrect.

“So, it’s after all that has been done that we will have a final figure, which we will now add to the existing 93 million or so. That will then become the voters’ register. We are mandated to give every political party a copy ahead of the election.”

Haruna also dismissed concerns over the number of Nigerians who could be excluded from the 2027 electoral process following the closure of the exercise.

He said INEC could only account for eligible citizens who had presented themselves for registration, adding that the commission had recorded applications through its online platform, physical registration centres and INEC offices across the 774 local government areas.

Meanwhile, the Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Dayo Oketola, said the decision to end the CVR exercise was in line with constitutional and legal provisions and was necessary to allow the commission to begin preparations for the 2027 general elections.

Oketola, speaking in the same interview, dismissed concerns over unusual pressure on the voter registration portal, saying the system was designed to accommodate the number of applicants throughout the exercise.

'No Extension' - INEC Sets July 26 Deadline for Voter Registration — ‘No Extension’ – INEC Sets July 26 Deadline for Voter Registration

He also rejected concerns that ending the registration process would disenfranchise eligible Nigerians, noting that INEC had conducted extensive voter education and awareness campaigns nationwide to encourage citizens to register.

Oketola added that closing the registration exercise was necessary for the commission to complete other critical activities ahead of the 2027 elections.

He stressed that allowing voter registration to continue indefinitely would disrupt INEC’s preparations and affect the electoral body’s ability to complete the processes required before the elections.