Nigerians who have not registered to vote are running out of time, as the Independent National Electoral Commission‘s (INEC) Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise closes on Sunday, July 26, 2026.

INEC says any citizen aged 18 and above who fails to register by 3:00 p.m. on Sunday will not be able to vote in the 2027 general election.

Those concerned now have just two days left: Saturday, July 25, and Sunday, July 26, to get registered.

Have you moved to a new location?
Your vote should move with you.

Don't let your old polling location decide your future. Apply for a Transfer of Registration and vote where you now live either by visiting any CVR registration centre or using online portal via:… pic.twitter.com/B5obgwwdI9

— INEC Nigeria (@inecnigeria) July 23, 2026

The commission has kept registration centres open daily, including weekends, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m, meaning unregistered citizens can visit designated locations to register on Saturday and Sunday. Prospective voters can visit any INEC state or local government office, or other designated centres near them, to complete the process.

INEC had initially planned to close the CVR exercise on July 10, 2026, but extended it by two weeks following requests from political parties, civil society groups, and its own state offices. The commission said the extension was to give more eligible Nigerians a chance to get on the voter roll.

Alongside the physical registration, INEC also launched a self-service online portal on July 8, 2026, allowing first-time voters to register from their phones or computers, including capturing their biometrics, without visiting an INEC office in person.

The commission has urged Nigerians who are yet to register not to wait until the last day, warning that last-minute rushes could lead to long queues and possible disappointment at some centres.

With the clock now down to three days, officials say this is the final window before the register closes ahead of the 2027 polls.

A shrinking electorate

Even as INEC pushes to add more voters to its roll, turnout on election day has been falling steadily for over a decade. In 2011, 39.4 million of the 73.5 million registered voters cast their ballots, a turnout of 53.7 percent. By 2015, turnout had dropped to 43.6 percent, then to 34.75 percent in 2019, and to just 26.7 percent in 2023, the lowest since Nigeria’s return to democracy.

The 2023 election also showed a stark regional gap. No state recorded a turnout above 50 percent, unlike in 2015 and 2019. The North-West and North-Central led with up to 30 percent turnout, followed by the North-East at 28.63 percent, while all three southern zones posted less than 25 percent.

If the trend holds, a bigger voter register may not translate into a bigger turnout in 2027.