By Amin Kef Sesay
After much contemplation and theories bordering around the date for the country’s Presidential Election, the country’s Electoral Commission has finally announced that the date for Presidential Election is the 24th June, 2023 days after the President’s office announced the same date for Parliamentary and Local Council elections.
During the announcement by the Chairman and Commissioner of the National Electoral Commission, Mohamed Konneh, he categorically stated that they, as an electoral management body, are prepared to review electoral boundaries if the need arises.
Dates for the registration of eligible voters have also been announced and it will run from September 3, 2022, to October 4, 2022. The registration will be done biometrically in all communities across the country.
The National Elections Watch (NEW), it was said, welcomed the “timely” announcement, calling on the authorities to ensure proper public education ahead of the polls.
The local council elections were to be conducted this year, but they were postponed due to logistical reasons, according to the Government.
Through a legislative amendment, the tenure of councils was extended to merge with the Presidential and Parliamentary elections.
While recognizing the “timely proclamations” of the election dates as best practice, NEW says it is a first step towards ensuring credible, transparent and accountable electoral process.
“Voter Registration is an integral part of the electoral process and therefore requires special attention,” it states.
There has been a public debate on how to acquire the voter register vis-à-vis the role of the National Civil Registration Authority (NCRA). The Government had said that the Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone will extract its data from the NCRA’s database to develop its voter register, a proposal the opposition has a reservation with.
NEW calls on the authorities to publish the steps that are involved and scenarios expected at the Registration centres.
