January 22, (THEWILL) – The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has described as misleading and false, the trending narrative that Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) issued by the Commission in 2011 should be revalidated before the 2023 general election.
Addressing the concerns of Nigerians in a statement issued on Saturday in Abuja, the chief press secretary to INEC chairman, Rotimi Lawrence Oyekanmi, said it is also not true that the Commission will use a so-called “New Card Reader” for the 2023 elections
He said the PVCs issued by INEC in 2011 and after can still be used by their respective owners to vote in all elections, including the upcoming Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council Elections.
Oyekanmi said, “The Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) issued by INEC in 2011 and after can still be used by their respective owners to vote in all elections, including the upcoming Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council Elections, the Ekiti and Osun Governorship elections, as well as the 2023 General Election. To be sure, PVCs issued in 2011 and after do not need any revalidation.
“What the Commission intends to use is a multi-purpose gadget, known as the INEC Voter Enrolment Device (IVED). It is currently being used for the physical registration of voters. During an election, it will facilitate the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), which provides for both fingerprint and facial authentication.”
Explaining further, he said the device will also be used to upload individual polling unit election results to the INEC Result Viewing portal (IReV) in real-time on election day.
“The general public should therefore disregard the fake news making the rounds that the PVCs issued in 2011 need revalidation. There is no need to revalidate any PVC issued by INEC for election purposes”, he added.
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