The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced plans to implement a new system that will allow voters to obtain “downloadable Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs)” if their original cards have been lost or defaced.
The INEC Chairman, Joash Amupitan, made this disclosure on Wednesday while receiving the Director-General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Lanre Issa-Onilu, at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja.
Amupitan emphasized that this technological upgrade is part of a broader initiative to modernize electoral processes ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He clarified that the service would not be available to first-time registrants, stating, “It is not every PVC that is downloadable. You must have gotten your PVC before, and it must be that the PVC is lost, defaced or if you cannot read your numbers there.”
To manage the logistics of this system, the commission requires affected voters to formally lodge their complaints at least 90 days before an election.
This buffer period is intended to allow INEC to process the digital replacements effectively. The commission plans to pilot this technology during the upcoming off-cycle Osun governorship election in August.
In addition to the PVC initiative, the INEC Chairman revealed that the commission is finalizing technology that will allow citizens to complete the entire voter registration process online, eliminating the need for physical visits to registration centers for biometric capture.
“We have also been working on the technology that is going to make it possible for the registration of voters online without even having to visit INEC local government or registration areas. So hopefully in the next few days, we will be testing it as soon as the commission approves it,” Amupitan added.
These technological advancements are designed to remove barriers to participation, ensuring that eligible citizens can register and maintain their voter status seamlessly while reducing the risk of voter disenfranchisement.
