Ahead of the 2027 general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has pledged to tighten loose ends to ensure free, fair and credible elections.

INEC National Commissioner, Prof. Kunle Ajayi, stated this yesterday during the training of the Commission?s Inclusivity Officers in Abuja, organised by the Nigerian Women Trust Fund (NWTF), and funded by the European Union (EU).

This is as the Commission announced that the nationwide Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) will hold in 811 centres across its 774 local government, 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja on August 18 with the online pre-registration while the in-person registration option will follow a week later on August 25. Thereafter, the two processes will continue simultaneously until August 30, 2026.

Prof. Ajayi explained that the training was to educate desk officers on the need for inclusivity for equal participation of voters.

According to him, in the 2023 general elections, some election observers complained that some persons with disabilities could not have access to the assistive devices.

He declared that there should not be any complaint on how people with disabilities should be managed.

?During the 2023 general elections some election observers complained that some persons with disabilities could not have access to the assistive devices?

?There shouldn?t be any complaint on how we manage people with disabilities. There is a separate department for inclusivity in INEC. Fortunately, I am the Chairman of the Committee managing that particular desk.

?This capacity building workshop is for desk officers managing our gender and inclusivity table. Its? a way of training and retraining, by refreshing them with policies of INEC.

?INEC is an inclusive organization. It embraces everybody in the society because the Aright to choose our leaders lies with everybody.

?So, we are not going to exclude anybody on the basis of sex or social standing or whatever. So all genders, male and female, all adults as long as you are 18 years and above we include you, all able-bodied persons and PWDs, everybody will be brought on board to ensure a participatory democracy.

?Democracy is not by voting alone it also includes hearing your voices, in fact, we want to hear the voices of everybody both old and young male and female, abled and disabled, and that is why we have trained our desk officers to project this policy of INEC, to be able to allocate, advertise it beyond the offices.

?We are pulling desk officers from all states and local government offices of INEC. We are training them here, and will go back home whatever they might have heard here will be able to translate it to policy implementation.

?We will capture both the abled and the disabled. So, new cases will emerge automatically, and we are going to put them in our database.

?So, we may have more PUs that need devices, this time around, more than before. So, we are going to accommodate everybody.?

When asked if the commission was ready for change, he said: ?Yes. We are prepared for that. We are prepared for that.?

NWFT Chief Executive Officer, Brenda Anugwom, stressed that the training was not just a technical workshop but an investment in building an inclusive electoral culture.

She added that the training was an opportunity for participants to reflect on their goals, exchange insights, and develop practical, context-driven solutions that will support more equitable representation.

?Now, we are a country where people keep saying, in a sense, democracy but I think our democracy has got its legs fully formed on the ground, and that is why it is important that all of you experts in this room to ensure that we take this knowledge from here back to our various states, and as we continue replicating this knowledge and informing all our other colleagues across the country.

?We will ensure that one day we will get to a point where we will have a uniform system, a uniform electoral culture, and that all of us can benefit from it because it is actually our democracy,? she added.

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) INEC Commissioner, Aminu Kasimu Idris, pointed out that the workshop capacity building workshop came at the right time, ?especially as the Commission has announced the resumption of the continuous registration exercise nationwide, and also to get the proximity of 2027 general elections, and the accompanied schedules of key electoral activities that will landmark the preparations creation for the elections.?

On the continuous registration, a statement by Sam Olumekun, National Commissioner and Chairman, Information & Voter Education Committee, said to ensure easy identification, INEC would deploy an online CVR Live Locator to assist citizens locate the registration centres nationwide. The locator will go live a day to the commencement of the CVR on August 17.

?Meanwhile, the commission has today uploaded a 38-page document to our website and other official online platforms indicating the addresses of the 811 in-person registration centres nationwide. Similarly, dedicated telephone numbers have been given for each State of the Federation to serve as Help Desk for citizens that require further clarification,? the commission noted in the statement.

On the registration of new political parties, the electoral umpire explained: ?Since the fourth update released on 23rd July 2025, the commission has received eight more letters of intent from associations seeking registration as political parties.?

?This brings the number received so far to 151. Details of the latest requests, indicating their proposed names, acronyms, logos, addresses and interim leaderships of the associations, are uploaded to our website and other online platforms for public information.

?Meanwhile, having created the portal for party registration, the commission has commenced the shortlisting of the associations that meet the requirements to proceed to the application stage. Details will be released immediately after the 16 bye-elections in 12 states scheduled for Saturday August 16.

?Once again, we reassure Nigerians that the commission shall continue to keep citizens informed on all its activities.? (Daily Sun)

Update news