No fewer than 1,680,315 voters are expected to participate in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council elections scheduled for February 21, 2026.
The FCT Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Malam Aminu Idris, disclosed this during a stakeholders’ meeting with political parties in Abuja, where the revised Register of Voters for the FCT was formally displayed.
Malam Idris explained that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) resumed the nationwide Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise on August 18, 2025, beginning with online pre-registration and followed by physical registration across the country from September 29, 2025.
He noted that, in line with Section 9(6) of the Electoral Act 2022, the CVR exercise in the FCT was suspended on October 12, 2025, to allow for the revision of the voters’ register ahead of the Area Council elections.
According to him, the revision process, carried out pursuant to Section 10(6) of the Electoral Act, involved biometric de duplication of the register, public display for claims and objections, and the compilation of a supplementary list. He added that the revised register now supersedes all previous registers.
The REC revealed that the number of registered voters in the FCT increased from 1,570,307 in 2023 to 1,680,315, adding that detailed voter statistics were provided to political parties at the meeting.
He also briefed stakeholders on INEC’s preparedness for the February 21, 2026, polls, which will fill 62 councillorship seats and six chairmanship positions across the six Area Councils of the FCT.
Activities already undertaken by the Commission, according to him, include monitoring of party primaries, publication of final lists of candidates, commencement of campaign monitoring, receipt of non sensitive election materials, activation of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), voter education and sensitisation, stakeholder engagement, and collaboration with security agencies through the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES).
Malam Idris urged political parties and candidates to sustain the prevailing peaceful atmosphere in the FCT and intensify voter mobilisation ahead of the elections.
He further announced that Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) for newly registered voters, as well as those who applied for transfer or data updates during the CVR exercise, have been delivered to the FCT. He said INEC would soon announce the date for the commencement of PVC collection.
Meanwhile, INEC has resumed the Continuous Voter Registration exercise in Anambra State.
The CVR exercise in the state was earlier suspended on July 20, 2025, to enable the Commission clean up the voters’ register and produce and distribute PVCs ahead of the November 8, 2025, governorship election.
The resumption of CVR at the INEC state office and the 21 local government area offices in Anambra will allow eligible voters to register, update their records, replace lost or damaged PVCs, and transfer their voting locations ahead of the 2027 General Election.
