The Independent National Electoral Commission has put the preliminary voters’ register for the 2027 elections online after public pressure, 11 days after its physical display ended and with the final register due on Dec. 15.
The commission announced the move Monday in a statement by Mohammed Kudu Haruna, chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee. It said the register is now available on a dedicated INEC display portal.
What INEC said
INEC said it had “taken note of the concerns” raised by Nigerians and other stakeholders about the need to make the register available online as well as at registration areas. The online version is the same list that was displayed physically from Oct. 9 to 15, it said.
The commission said it is still processing claims and objections from the display under the Electoral Act 2026, ahead of the certification and publication of the final register on Dec. 15.
The register now lists about 103.43 million voters, up from roughly 93 million before the 2023 elections, according to figures released by INEC.
Why the upload drew criticism
Critics said INEC had broken the law by failing to publish the register online within the required period. The Foundation for Investigative Journalism reported the commission missed a statutory 90 day deadline, and said the upload came eight days after it.
Opposition figures had also pressed the point. ADC presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar said last week that people who visited INEC’s online portal during the display found an empty page, and he demanded publication by local government, area council and ward.
INEC had not answered his statement when it was released, and its Monday announcement did not mention him. It also did not say why the online version was not available during the physical display.
What voters can do now
The online version lets voters check whether their name, photograph and other details were captured correctly. INEC urged Nigerians to use it, but it did not say whether new claims or objections will be accepted now that the physical display has ended.
That is the open question. A register that can be viewed online but not challenged would let voters find errors without giving them a way to fix them.
In 2022, INEC displayed a preliminary register of 93,522,272 names at wards and on its website for two weeks. Some critics see this year’s delay as a step back.
The election is set for Jan. 16, 2027, and permanent voter cards are to be collected in December, according to earlier INEC statements.
Chairman Joash Amupitan said on Oct. 14 that INEC had completed 10 of 14 major operational milestones for the election.
Public confidence in the register matters because it decides who can vote. Delays and blank pages feed suspicion, even when the cause is technical.
INEC has done what critics asked, but late. The next test is the final register on Dec. 15: whether the names removed and added can be explained, and whether voters who find mistakes can get them fixed before January 16.
