Voting, counting and final results may turn out to be something else, but getting registered in order to be able to vote in the June 24, 2023 elections is the gateway to ensuring that one is able to vote and to get his or her party win the forthcoming elections.
Sierra Leoneans home (and those abroad) must therefore make it a point of duty to register and possess their voter ID cards to be able to cast their votes for the presidential, parliamentary and local council candidates they deem appropriate to lead and represent them.
It is fundamental that every Sierra Leonean who is 18-year-old and above and of sound mind get registered in the upcoming voter registration exercise – which commences on 3 September through 4 October this year – in order to vote in the national elections slated to take place on 24 June 2023.
According to the Chief Electoral Commissioner of the Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone (ECSL), the registration process will be done on two phases: phase 1 runs from 3 to 17 September, and phase 2 runs from 20 September to 4 October this year.
In the event one is not registered by the ECSL, his or her right to vote will be denied even if that person is a citizen of Sierra Leone as enshrined in the 1991 constitution of Sierra Leone of which Section 31 states: “Every citizen of Sierra Leone being eighteen years of age and above and of sound mind shall have the right to vote, and accordingly shall be entitled to be registered as a voter for the purposes of public elections and referenda.”
Once registered, one becomes a more valid material to the elections aspirants be they candidates for presidential, parliamentary, or local government elections.
Getting registered for voting would also let one earn a document or ID that can be used not only for the June 24, 2023 elections but also for other elections that may come up after the June 2023 elections, as well as for other official transactions that require ID in the absence of a national ID or passport.
In the same vein, the Chairman of the Political Parties Registration Commission (PPRC), Abdulai Masiyambay Bangurah Esq, has made an apt statement cautioning political parties and politicians to guard against using the period of the voter registration exercise to campaign, when the ECSL is yet to declare a campaign period for the 2023 elections.
“Voter card is the most effective weapon the ordinary man would have over their politicians. Your voter card will help you regulate your politicians. At the same time I would like to remind the political parties that ECSL has not declared campaign open and they have not given us their campaign calendar for now. So we would not want to see political parties going out there to campaign in the guise of sensitizing your membership on voter registration. We would keep watch and we would not hesitate to call you to order,” Mr Bangurah echoed this warning during a meeting he had with political parties on Wednesday 24 August 2022.
The PPRC Chairman is correct to have issued such a warning to guard against anything that will bring about misunderstanding and probable violence during the upcoming voter registration exercise. It is also vital that he issued such a caution since the PPRC is the body legally responsible for the registration of all political parties in Sierra Leone. Subsection 4 of Section 34 of the 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone states: “The Commission shall be responsible for the registration of all political parties and for that purpose may make such regulations as may be necessary for the discharge of its responsibilities under this Constitution; provided that the first registration of political parties after the coming into force of this Constitution shall be undertaken by the Electoral Commission.”
Mr Bangurah also said that with funds from the government of Sierra Leone, the PPRC intends to deploy the membership of the All Political Parties Youth Association (APPYA) and the All Political Parties Women’s Association to also encourage Sierra Leoneans of voting age to ensure that from 3 September to 4 October 2022 they are registered by the ECSL, which, he stressed, would contribute immensely to making the process inclusive and transparent.
Therefore, as the people of this country brace up for the upcoming voter registration exercise, it is essential that they guard against being misled by politicians into veering unto political campaign sentiments. All are therefore advised to come out in their numbers to get registered by the ECSL, as it is only those who are properly registered that will earn voter ID cards to cast their votes in the June 24, 2023 elections. And it is the only gateway to ensuring that one is able to vote and get his or her party or candidates win the forthcoming elections.
Sierra Leoneans home and abroad must make it a point of duty to register and possess their voter ID cards in order to cast their votes for the candidates they want to represent them.
Let it, for the record, be stated that all that Forum is doing is to perform its civic role of enlightening the people about their rights to vote and to be voted for as enshrined or stipulated in the Sierra Leone 1991 Constitution, as well as to complement the efforts of the Sierra Leone Electoral Commission et al.
Furthermore, as the US’s Thomas Jefferson states, Forum believes that “the press is the best instrument for enlightening the mind of man, and improving him as a rational, moral and social being”.
It must however be noted that “every mind must make its choice between truth and repose. It cannot have both”. A word for the wise is quite sufficient.
