Vickie Remoe Institute of Digital Communications

ECSL to use mobile application for voters identification on election day 

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The Director of Operations at the Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone (ECSL), has confirmed that they will be using a mobile application to address the issue of voters whose pictures will not be on their ID cards on polling day. 

Mohamed Turay, who was speaking at an engagement held in Kamakwie with Paramount Chiefs from Karene district, on February 17, 2023, on the use of the Proportional Representation system in the conduct of the June 2023 general election, explained that this system would only be for voters whose photos did not appear at all on their ID cards, not those who may have issues with the way their photos look.

The commission received concerns during its verification process that many people’s photos were not seen in their registers. The ECSL said some of them were first-time voters, whilst others’ cases were caused by externalities that took place whilst getting data from the National Civil Registration Authority. 

The commission has also slated the issuance of ID cards for March 17th through the 26th. In addition, Mr. Turay said that the Commission is also planning to introduce a web application for nominations of candidates.

The ECSL recently had a court ruling in their favour after members of the opposition took the commission to court over its decision to use the PR system to conduct the 2023 elections. The opposition party’s decision was premised on the existence of constituencies which was not the case in 1996 and 2002 when the system was used.  However, the supreme court ruled in favour of the commission, citing the constitutional mandate given to the president to advise the commission on the conduct of the elections.

It is in lieu of this that the commission is holding engagements with different groups to get people to be familiar with the system since it was last used 21 years ago, in 2002, and most first-time voters are hearing about it for the first time. 

The Chief Electoral Commissioner Mohamed Konneh said, their public engagements are geared towards getting people to know how to cast vote in an election conducted using a PR system, and the Paramount Chiefs’ role towards peaceful elections.

Contrary to a popular concern raised by opponents of the system, the director of media and communication at ECSL, Raymond George said that independent candidates would be allowed to contest for any political position in the elections except for the presidential seat. He added that the commission has over one hundred symbols and the independent candidates would be required to choose from any of them if they don’t have one yet. 

“This would be on a first-come, first-served basis,” Mr. George said.  He continued that the commission will not accept any list of members of Parliament and councillors from political parties if it is not signed by the leader and secretary general of the party it is said to come from. 

The commission will also not accept lists that do not include the minimum quota of 30 % of women, as was provided for by the recently enacted Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Act.

The National Chairman of the Council of the paramount chief, PC Fasuluku Amadu III, from Sandong Chiefdom Kono district said that he has learnt the way proportional Representation works. ECSL’s hopes are that the Paramount Chiefs present at the engagement disseminate the message to chiefs at community levels who are expected to pass the message onward to their subjects.

  

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  1. pgslot 2 November, 2023 at 01:52 Reply

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