INEC to open 811 voter registration centres nationwide

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced it will conduct Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) across 811 centres spread throughout Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The commission revealed that the registration process will resume on August 18, 2025, starting with online pre-registration, followed by in-person registration from August 25. Both processes will then run concurrently until August 30, 2026.

INEC's National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, explained that to make registration more accessible, a CVR Live Locator tool will go live on August 17, a day before the exercise begins, to help citizens easily find registration centres closest to them.

Registration will take place from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Mondays to Fridays, excluding national public holidays. The designated centres include the commission’s 774 local government offices, as well as its offices in all 36 states and the FCT.

Additionally, INEC has uploaded a comprehensive list of the registration centre addresses to its website and other official platforms. Each state will also have dedicated telephone numbers to serve as help desks for citizens seeking support.

The registration procedures remain unchanged from the 2022 exercise, and updated informational materials—including instructional videos—will be released by the commission in the coming week.

Meanwhile, Olumekun disclosed that INEC has received eight new letters of intent from associations applying for recognition as political parties. This brings the total number of requests received to 151.

Details of the applications, including proposed names, acronyms, logos, and leadership structures, have been published on the commission’s website. The commission has begun screening the submissions to determine which associations qualify to proceed to the next stage.

A final list of shortlisted associations will be released after the upcoming 16 bye-elections scheduled across 12 states on Saturday, August 16.