Get ready

Six things before January.

Tick them off as you go. Then read what happens on the day, what to do if you are turned away, and what to bring.

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STEP 01Check that you are registeredGo to the INEC voter registration portal and enter your details. It tells you whether your registration exists and whether it is valid. Do this first, because everything else depends on it.STEP 02Find out where your PVC is waitingCards are collected in person, usually at the INEC office in your local government area or at your registration ward during collection drives. INEC announces collection centres and dates by state. Bring the slip you were given at registration if you still have it, and a form of identification.STEP 03Collect the card yourselfNobody can collect your PVC for you without formal authorisation. Uncollected cards are the single largest category of wasted votes in Nigeria. Around six million sat in INEC offices through the 2023 election.STEP 04Confirm your polling unitYour polling unit code is printed on the back of your PVC, and INEC’s polling unit locator will show you the physical location. Check it before January, not on the morning, because units are sometimes split or relocated.

Polling unit locator

Find yours in under a minute

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Find my unit No PVC with you? Search by area

Illustration. The code is on the back of the card; the layout of real cards may differ.

STEP 05Decide whether you need a transferIf you no longer live where you registered, apply to transfer to your current polling unit while the window is open. If you are not transferring, plan to be physically in your registered area the night before.STEP 06Put both dates in your phone nowSaturday 16 January 2027 for President, Senate and House of Representatives. Saturday 6 February 2027 for Governor and State House of Assembly. They are three weeks apart and both of them matter.

Election day

What happens at your polling unit

1Arrive earlyPolls have opened at 8:30am in recent elections. Arriving early means a shorter queue and a calmer unit. Confirm the exact timing closer to the day, because the Electoral Act 2026 changed several procedural timelines.
2Find your unit and join the queueOfficials will direct you. If your name is being read from a list, listen for it. Do not join a queue for a different unit, because you cannot vote there.
3Get accreditedAn official scans your PVC and verifies you with the BVAS machine, using your fingerprint or your face. This is accreditation. It proves you are you and that you have not already voted.
4Collect your ballot papersYou will receive one paper per election being held that day. On 16 January that is three: President, Senate and House of Representatives. On 6 February it is two: Governor and State Assembly. Check that each is stamped and signed.
5Vote in the booth, aloneThumbprint inside the box of your choice, once per paper. A print that touches two boxes cancels that vote. Fold the paper so the mark is inside, and do not photograph it.
6Drop each paper in the right boxThere is a separate ballot box for each election. Putting the presidential paper in the Senate box destroys that vote.
7Stay for the countCounting happens at your polling unit, in public, at the close of polls. The result is announced aloud, written on form EC8A, pasted at the unit and uploaded. You are entitled to stand there and watch. This is the single most useful hour a voter can spend.

If you are turned away

Do not walk away quietly. A refusal nobody wrote down is invisible afterwards. Get it recorded and get the polling unit code.

Your name is not on the register at that unit

Ask the presiding officer to check the unit you were transferred to or registered at. Bring out your PVC and read the polling unit code on the back. Most cases are people standing in the wrong unit.

The BVAS will not read your fingerprint

There is a facial verification fallback. Ask for it by name. Officials are required to attempt it before refusing you.

You do not have your PVC

You cannot vote without it. There is no substitute document. This is why collection matters in October, not January.

An official simply refuses you

Ask for the reason to be entered in the polling unit diary. Take the presiding officer’s name and the polling unit code. Then report it, calmly, to INEC’s contact channels and to any accredited observers present.

Party agents or thugs try to stop you

Do not argue and do not fight. Step back, find security or an accredited observer, and report it. Your safety comes first and a reported incident is evidence.

What to bring

Your PVC

There is no way to vote without it and no replacement on the day.

A charged phone and a power bank

For INEC’s contact lines, for reporting, and because you may be there a while.

Water and something small to eat

Queues have run for hours in past elections.

Cap, umbrella or hat

January and February are hot and the queue has no shade.

No party colours, caps or wristbands

Campaigning at a polling unit is an offence and it will get you sent away.

Your patience

Arguments at polling units are how units get shut down and results get cancelled.

8:30am

Polls opened in 2023

2:30pm

Close, but anyone already in the queue votes

Saturday

Both election days

Free

Voting costs nothing, ever

Timings are from the 2023 general election. The Electoral Act 2026 changed several timelines, so confirm final hours with INEC closer to the date.

Put your thumb on it.

Pledge to vote on both Saturdays. You get your own ballot summary straight away, a reminder to collect your PVC, and a nudge in the final week. Nothing else.

Take the pledge