Nigeria’s voter register set to hit 100 million

Nigeria’s voter register is expected to cross 100 million once the CVR exercise is finalised, making it Africa’s largest electoral democracy.

INEC’s National Commissioner Mohammed Haruna said Nigeria’s voter register, which currently stands at over 93 million, is expected to cross 100 million once the just-concluded Continuous Voter Registration exercise is finalised. The projection would make Nigeria the largest electoral democracy in Africa. With 151 days to the first phase of the elections, INEC said its communication officers must deliver aggressive civic education to mobilise voters, including on digital tools such as the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System and the IReV results-viewing platform.

The commission flagged misinformation and disinformation as the principal threats to voter confidence and said the 2027 elections must set a new benchmark for access, including for persons with disabilities, women, youth and elderly voters. The milestone is a significant achievement for Nigeria’s democracy, but it also presents a challenge: the larger the electorate, the greater the risk of disinformation and logistical failures. INEC’s focus on civic education is a recognition that the commission cannot take voter participation for granted.

This echoes the 2022 voter registration drive, which also saw significant increases in the number of registered voters. The mechanism then was different, but the result was the same: a growing electorate.

The winners: Nigerian voters, who have the opportunity to participate in the largest electoral democracy in Africa; and INEC, which has registered millions of new voters. The losers: those who seek to manipulate the electoral process; and the Nigerian government, which must ensure that the elections are free and fair.

Bottom Line: Nigeria’s voter register is set to hit 100 million. The challenge is ensuring that the elections are credible and inclusive.