Voter registration challenges: NDC questions EC’s competence to hold incident-free election

The Eastern Regional Secretariat of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has raised concerns about the Electoral Commission's (EC) preparedness for the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections on December 7, citing widespread system challenges during the first day of the limited voter registration exercise.

In a press statement released on Tuesday, the NDC expressed doubts about the EC's ability to conduct smooth elections, criticizing the commission's approach as "a lazy man's approach."

The statement, signed by Regional Secretary Jamal Konneh, said, "Almost all the constituencies were not able to start registration today [May 7, 2024] at the time given by the EC itself. As of 1 pm on the first registration day, about 95% of constituencies in the Eastern Region had not started the exercise due to challenges best known to the EC alone."

The NDC noted that this scenario calls into question the competence of the EC's technical team and their ability to manage a "transparent and incident-free election process."

"It must be recalled how this same team managed our district-level elections last year, with some districts having to postpone their elections to a later date," the statement continued.

The NDC urged the EC to address the technical challenges promptly and to consider seeking help from stakeholders if necessary to resolve the issues.

The party emphasized that the registration exercise is time-bound, and the EC must respect the timetable.

"The NDC in the Eastern Region won't tolerate this lazy man's approach tomorrow since the registration exercise is time-bound, and the timetable must be respected," the statement warned.

The NDC called on the EC to resolve the challenges before the close of the day to ensure a successful registration exercise moving forward.

The Electoral Commission began its limited voter registration exercise today, Tuesday, May 7.

The exercise is targeted at first-time voters and those who wish to obtain a voter card.

The registration period is scheduled to last 21 days, ending on May 27, 2024.

The Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Madam Jean Mensa, stated that the exercise aims to register approximately 623,000 first-time voters across the country.