Over the weekend, I was talking with my siblings about politics and who we would be voting for and why. Four people in my family currently have their PVC (Permanent Voters Card) and will be voting come 14th February 2015. One of my sisters does not have hers yet though. And no, she is not unpatriotic; she registered in Benin as she was still at the University during the last elections. Today she is a graduate and is unsure if she can get her PVC sent to her local government. She has been trudging to the primary school being used as a registration and collection centre but she has not been able to register yet. Will she miss voting this year and what are the chances that she can register after the elections are over?
I registered in 2011 and collected the laminated card. As elections approached I started thinking of how I would get my permanent voters card. I was working weekdays and had events back to back on Saturdays. They were events I could not get out of and so one Sunday after church at 2pm I went to the primary school where the Voters Cards were being collected and eventually made two trips, one to the location of the pasted names (the names and the details of those who registered in 2011 were pasted on the wall). I did this because the codes, number of the ward and the specific number on the PVC were on the wall. This enabled me to spend just 10 minutes when I got to the front of the queue. Some people who hadn’t done that spent 2-3 hours checking the cards from varying locations.
So if you have not gotten your PVC yet, go to the place where you registered in 2011 and look for your name on the wall. Copy the number at the top of the sheet and then the number on your Temporary Voters Card; it will help you find your PVC very easily. If you don’t know the specific place where your PVC (Permanent Voters Card) is being distributed, click on this link.
The PVC distribution was recently decentralized to Wards (don’t go to the local governments). Get your pick-up spot here.