Voter registration set for 16 March

The 2004 budget is to be read today by the Finance Minister, according to insiders, the date for the reading was brought forward to prompt the release of funds for the EC to put the electoral process into full gear.

The EC is settling on March 16 as date to open the voter registration process, which is expected to take two weeks. The Voter ID for this year’s election is a much-improved kind on the previous one, indicating that old incidence of electoral fraud would be significantly reduced.

The main feature on this year’s Voter ID is that scanned copy of every voter’s photograph will be kept on the EC database and produced alongside the voter’s details at the polling booth.

Thus, the photograph on the voter ID which the voter presents will be cross checked with what the EC has before it on the table before a voter is allowed to vote.