FCT Area Council Poll: INEC Publishes Register of 1,680,315 Voters

* Resumes CVR in Anambra

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

Ahead of the February 21, 2026 Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has published and presented the revised Register of Voters with a total number of 1,680,315 registered voters.

The presentation took place in Abuja on Wednesday during a stakeholders’ meeting with political parties, where the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for the FCT, Mallam Aminu Idris, described the exercise as a critical constitutional requirement in the commission’s preparations for the election.

He recalled that INEC resumed the nationwide  Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) on August 18, 2025, beginning with online pre-registration and followed by physical registration nationwide from September 29, 2025.

Idris explained that in compliance with Section 9(6) of the Electoral Act, 2022, the CVR was suspended in the FCT on October 12, 2025, to allow the commission revise the Register of Voters for the area council election.

He noted: “The revision process, carried out pursuant to Section 10(6) of the Electoral Act, involved biometric deduplication of the register, its display for claims and objections, and the compilation of a supplementary list arising from the exercise.”

He noted that the revised register now supersedes all previous registers.

Idris disclosed that the total number of registered voters in the FCT increased from 1,570,307 recorded in 2023 to 1,680,315, adding that detailed statistics were made available to political parties at the meeting.

He further briefed stakeholders on the commission’s level of preparedness for the February 21, 2026, area council election, which will fill 62 councillorship seats and six chairmanship positions across the FCT.

Meanwhile, INEC has resumed the Continuous Voter Registration exercise in Anambra State.L

The CVR was suspended on July 20, 2025, to enable the commission clean up the voters’ register, as well as produce and distribute Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) ahead of the November 8, 2025, governorship election in the state.

The resumption of the CVR at the Anambra State office and the 21 local government area offices is expected to provide eligible voters the opportunity to register, update their records, apply for replacement of lost or damaged PVCs, and transfer their voting locations ahead of the 2027 general election.