The Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) has revealed its intention to introduce voting without Permanent Voter Cards(PVC) for eligible Nigerians to be able vote in the 2027 general elections, however, INEC emphasized that such a move must be backed by legal amendments.
In an interview with on Wednesday, Rotimi Oyekanmi, the INEC Chairman’s chief press secretary, revealed that the commission was dedicated to increasing voter access via technology, but emphasized that any change from the existing PVC-only system would require changes to the law.
The initiative was a response to comments made by Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, the chairman of INEC, at a quarterly consultative meeting with resident electoral commissioners in Abuja in December 2024.
Yakubu emphasized how technology, especially the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, is becoming more and more important in expediting the electoral process.
He pointed out that although PVCs will still be valid for people who own them, voters may be able to use slips produced by INEC or obtained from its official website in subsequent elections to obtain accreditation.
He said that this change will reduce expenses, alleviate administrative strains, and stop voter card abuse.
In his words, “The commission also believes that with the introduction of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, the use of the Permanent Voters’ Cards as the sole means of identification for voter accreditation on Election Day should be reviewed,
“Those who already have the PVCs can still use them to vote, but going forward, computer-generated slips issued to the voter or even downloaded from the Commission’s website will suffice for voter accreditation.
“This will not only save cost, it will also eliminate the issues around the collection of PVCs and the diabolical practice of buying up the cards from voters in order to disenfranchise them.”
While providing an update on the initiative for the 2027 elections, Oyekanmi stressed that any modifications to the voting process must be backed by matching legislative changes.
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