If you do not have a Permanent Voters Card (PVC) during the 2023 general elections you would not be able to vote for your preferred candidate, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said.

The Head of Voter Education and Publicity Department, INEC, Rivers State, Mark Usulor, in an interview with Kristina Reports on Wednesday, November 30, 2022 in his office in Port Harcourt, said it had become imperative to debunk rumours making the rounds that registered voters can vote via the register without presenting their PVC in the 2023 elections at the various polling units.

He asserted that the Electoral Act did not make any provision for such actions, stressing that “it was fallacy indeed because if there is anything contrary to the provision of the law, the commission would have to make a policy statement to that effect and there must be an amendment of the law, and act accordingly”.

“I want the public to discountenance the entirety of the rumour that is coming up that you can vote without your Permanent Voters Card. I hereby state that the commission still stands on its position that it is only with your Permanent Voters Card that you can be attended to on election day to cast your vote.”

“I heard insinuations and rumour from the public that without the PVC you can still vote, it is not true. if there is anything like that, there must be a policy statement from the commission and all our activities go by our extant laws and regulations.”  

“The Electoral Act has not provided that you go out to the APO 1 on the election day and just check the register and if your name is there, you will just thumbprint or place your finger on the BVAS (Bimodal Voters Accreditation System), and let your particulars pop up.”  

Usulor explained that the commission had not started distributing the Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) yet because the processes involved collating voters’ details before distribution, informing that the commission’s Enhanced Voters Access initiative requires allotting more polling units due to emerging demographic constraints.

“Why it delayed a bit was that we have what is called Enhanced Voter’s Access to polling unit because we created new polling units out of the voting points we used to have before and the threshold was 750 per unit. So, if you have a polling unit where we have one 1,500 and above, we are going to create two more polling units.”

“Now we realised that if we issue PVC without making sure of where they’ll vote, it’ll be a problem. So, that is why we did display for their names to be checked for omission. We did display for comments and equally we did display for claims and objection.”

“Complaints can come via claims and reportage of what is not existing, by the particulars a voter is given, by way of objections; and standing on the provisions of section 19 of the Electoral Act, that we must run this display for claims and objection before 90 days to the election.”

He, however, indicated that collection of PVCs will begin soon as the commission had started issuing to its branches across the different states in the nation, advising voters to go to the polling units where they registered as that is where they could vote.

“The commission has started issuing PVCs to states. We are expecting Rivers State PVCs; Nasarawa has collected yesterday or two days back and some others within the Middle Belt. We are expecting Rivers State own to come.”

“Those that registered from part of January to July 31st are going to have their PVCs. Those that our machines have not termed to be invalid registration because when we run the ABIS (Automated Bimodal Identification System) – that is the check for multiple and double registration system I mentioned earlier – then we are going to display now for those that are going to vote to take their PVCs, then on the election day you must come with your PVC.”