INEC Removes 7,746 Deceased Voters From Register, Flags Challenges

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that as of December 2022, 7,746 deceased voters were removed from the national voter register in 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

INEC’s Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Victoria Etta-Messi, disclosed this during an interview with Punch on Thursday.

“Seven thousand, seven hundred and forty-six deceased persons across the 36 states and the FCT were removed from the National Register of Voters as of December 2022,” she said.

INEC stated that such cleanups are routinely conducted before general elections to ensure the integrity of the voter register.

Despite efforts to maintain an updated register, INEC highlighted persistent challenges in removing deceased persons due to the lack of comprehensive official death records.

“Problems with official death records continue to make it very difficult for INEC to remove deceased registrants,” the commission noted in its 2023 post-general election review conducted in December 2024.

Naijaonpoint reports that the review further revealed that while 12,298,944 new voters were added during the registration exercise, 2,780,756 cases of invalid registrations—representing 22.6 percent—were flagged and removed through the Automated Biometric Identification System.

INEC also expressed concern over declining voter turnout. In the 2023 presidential and National Assembly elections, voter turnout dropped to 27.5 percent, compared to 35.6 percent in 2019.

Some stakeholders have linked this decline to issues such as an inflated voter register, emphasizing the need for more rigorous cleaning efforts.

During ...-election review, stakeholders recommended enhanced collaboration between INEC and agencies like the National Population Commission (NPC) and the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to identify deceased voters.

“One suggestion from this review was to strengthen collaboration with other agencies such as NIMC and NPC to identify deceased persons in the register and remove them,” INEC noted.

Additionally, there were calls to suspend individuals who had not participated in the last three election cycles, requiring them to revalidate their registration to remain in the voter register.