The Opposition Leader in the House of Parliament of Sierra Leone, Hon. Chernor Ramadan Maju Bah has questioned the integrity of the continuing voter registration being undertaken by the Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone (ECSL).In a statement issued last Saturday 8 September 2022, the All Peoples Congress (APC) Leader expressed concerns over challenges recorded so far in the process.
Hon. Chernor Ramadan Maju Bah highlighted problems ranging from disproportionate allocation of registration centres, capacity deficiency and unacceptable attitudes of ECSL staff, probable and deliberate preventions of first-time voters from registering, faulty equipment, among other challenges.
He thus urged ECSL to urgently address the aforementioned concerns and furthered that since the commencement of the voter registration, APC MPs and the leadership have been fully engaged in constant monitoring of the process.
Hon Bah said that they have so far identified so many emerging challenges that are associated with the voter registration. He informed that the voter registration has continued to attract an impressive turnout and centres across the country.
The Opposition Parliamentary Leader underscored the significance of the June 24, 2023 general elections to the country’s peace, unity and development. Though sounds heartening by the huge turnout the process continues to receive, Hon. Bah said credible elections start with a credible registration process.
“So I am disconcerted by the persistent challenges hampering this critical electoral process,” he said, adding: “As the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, I have with grave concern witnessed and also been receiving updates indicating that the voter registration process is fraught with challenges which should be addressed as soon as possible.”
Challenges identified
The Majority Leader in parliament outlined some of the challenges he identified so far with the voter registration process, saying they include logistics and technical hitches, malfunctioning of equipment, first-time voters finding it difficult to register, capacity and attitude of the ECSL Staff, and uneven/disproportionate allocation of registration centres.
Logistics and Technical Challenges:
Most centres do not start on time and in some cases, will ironically stop the registration process before the prescribed closing time of 5pm. In the first few days in particular, the challenges ranged from constraints relating to the transportation of registration equipment to the centers, to delays in setting up of the centres, deployment of equipment in the wrong centres and districts, the unavailability of login passcodes among others.
Malfunctioning of Equipment:
There has been a recurrence of failure of equipment for the capturing of biometrics, personal data and photographs in some of the centres. There are complaints that computers are freezing rather too often; their batteries serve for very limited number of hours, and in many cases, there are no back-up batteries or charging facilities.
First Time Voters Finding It Difficult to Register:
First-time voters are being confronted with challenges in the registration process. ECSL staff are not consistent with the required criteria for the registration of this important group of citizens. The controversy around the use of birth certificates, school documents, identification by community leaders, are all being interpreted differently by ECSL staff, thereby hampering the registration process.
It should be noted that the Public Elections Act is very clear and unambiguous on the eligibility requirement for the registration of voters. A birth certificate can be used as a form of identification and in the instance where a birth certificate is not available, a Pastor, Imam, Councilor or any other community leader, can be called upon to identify and vouch for the person. But reports abound of instances wherein a limit is placed on the number of persons a community leader can identify. This is not part of the law.
Capacity and Attitude of the ECSL Staff:
Information from some of our MPs on the ground referenced with concern, the condescending and confrontational approach with which some of the ECSL staff relate to their clients – the public; as well as the lack of proper ICT and technical knowledge to perform their duties.
Uneven/Disproportionate Allocation of Registration Centers:
I have also noted that the number of centres per (area/village) particularly in the Northern and Western Areas are fewer than those in other parts of the country. In the rural areas of the affected regions, citizens have to endure the burden of trekking for hours in order to access registration centers. This is a key disincentive for participating in this very critical electoral process, especially by older people and the physically challenged.
Hon. Chernor Maju Bah said further: “While we grapple with all of these challenges, I would like to highlight two other very critical issues: The first is ECSL’s cumulative registration figures for the first 4 days. On Wednesday 7th September the Commission announced a cumulative figure of about 415,465 which it says represents the total number of registrants for that period. My expectation is that such update ought to be disaggregated by centres and made available on a daily basis, especially to political parties.
“The second issue is the use of unverified existing data to update the voters roll. As far as I am aware, political parties have not been intimated about ECSL’s existing data. The public would note that the current registration exercise is in two phases: One is the fresh registration of eligible citizens. The second is an update of existing data already with ECSL.”
The APC Parliamentary Leader also raised eyebrows on the comprehensiveness, accuracy, and reliability of ECS’s existing data.
“However,” he noted, “there is lack of transparency and inclusiveness relating to the existing data which raises questions about the comprehensiveness, accuracy, and reliability of such data.”
The Majority Leader said that if political parties were not given the opportunity to verify some of the data which would eventually constitute the voter roll, “this may impugn the integrity of the process”.
Thus he appealed to ECSL: “I therefore urge that the data which existed before the start of this registration process be made available to political parties for verification.”
