Fresh narrative on PVCs misleading, says INEC

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has debunked a Facebook post alleging that all Permanent Voters’ Cards issued in 2011 must be revalidated.

The post by one Ifeanyichukwu Ezefunamba alleged that INEC’s new card reader  for the 2023 election would not be able read the unless it is revalidated at any of the INEC offices.

But reacting, the Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, Rotimi Lawrence Oyekanmi, explained that the Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) issued by INEC in 2011 and after can be 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.

According to him, PVCs issued in 2011 and after do not need any revalidation, noting that it is also not true that the Commission would use the so-called “New Card Reader” for the 2023 General Election.

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“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.”

He said the device would 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.