By Chernor Alimamy Kamara, Abass Jalloh, Nasratu Kargbo in Freetown, Prince J. Musa in Kenema and NEWMAN Anthony Levey in Bo
The much anticipated Voter –Registration Process started on Saturday, ahead of the June 2023 Sierra Leone General Elections. Politico was out and about some areas to view the process.
At the UMC Primary school registration centre at Fattah Rahman Street in an area called Ginger hall , in Freetown, the coordinator was not present but one Electoral C omission of Sierra Leone (ECSL) staff, who preferred anonymity, said the process had been peaceful since it commenced.
But he admitted of one problems at the centre, which was the breakdown of the National Civil Registration Authority (NCRA) machine, which made it impossible for first- time voters to be registered. He said the problem has been relayed to the headquarter but could not confirm if it was to be fixed before the end of the day.
Politico first observed that it took 8 minutes for one person to be registered but as the process progressed, it took 4 minutes.
Alusine Mansaray after registering told Politico, he had fulfilled his civic right to register so as to enable him vote in subsequent elections. He said he felt fulfilled to have done so, and urged other people who are yet to register to go out in their numbers and get it done.
At Constituency 113, WARD 401, east of Freetown, people out to register, stated that the process was “nice” but that the officials started late.
“Those who were with NCRA identification card would have themselves registered faster. The registration staff will only verify by asking for the names of your mother and father and then you sign,” Mohamed Tholley explained to Politico.
The centre’s Data Inputting Officer, Alfred Sheriff, cited a few challenges.
“We came and realised there was no electricity, as the people who are supposed to give us electricity were not available, so we are using the power banks that we have,” he stated. He also said they have just one machine which eats up the time.
He said: “First, ECSL [Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone] should have visited these places to prevent these challenges. We never expected this type of (huge) turnout since it is the first day.”
He went on to say that they were having difficulty separating the first time voters from the rest, with them having to organise a single queue for the whole process.
Bashiru Kanu of Kossoh Town close to Hastings said he arrived at the centre at around 6:00 am, hoping to register early and continue with his activities.
However, Kanu stated that the officers arrived at around 7:00 am and took some time to set up the system. He finished registering at 1:47 pm.
Speaking on the turnout, he explained that in the ward where he registered, people were already at the centre by dawn and that they had to make cards and stand in queues in order for them to be attended to in the order in which they arrived at the centre.
Kanu stated that the exercise was peaceful, and that community stakeholders were there to ensure that the process was carried out in a violent-free environment.
In addition, he stated that priority is given to the aged, pregnant women and people with disability, and therefore called to come out to register, noting that it is only when an individual registers that he or she will be entitled to vote.
In another ward in the same community (Kossoh Town), people stood in long queues yelling and expressing dissatisfaction about the slow pace of the process, with some claiming to have there at 5:00 am.
Assistant Registration Officer 2 Chernor Alieu Bah explained that they were at the centre at 7:00 am in the morning but could not start the process until 7:35, noting that they encountered challenges with electricity and setting up of the machines. He noted that after everything was arranged, the process went on smoothly.
Explaining the process, Bah said that there are two desks, one for NCRA and another for ECSL with people asked to produce birth certificate, driver’s license, old voters ID card or NCRA slip, as the case may be.
After one must have confirmed their information, the information is then entered in the ECSL portal, and from there, the person has to go to the Assistant Identification Officer (AIO) 1 to get a receipt number, which is considered a confirmation number.
Speaking on those that do not have NCRA number, he explained that they will have to go through the NCRA registration and then move to the ECSL desk and later to the AIO 1.
When asked how long does it take for one to be registered, he explained that those without an NCRA number might take around twenty minute to go through the process, whilst for those with NCRA number it could take a maximum of five minutes.
Ward 445 at Kamayama Community Lumley in the west part of the capital where there was huge turnout, just like the other centres at Kossoh Town, people stated that the process was slow.
Mariatu Conteh explained that she and her family went directly to the centre after Fajri prayer, but were there till noon and could not register. Conteh and other people standing nearby attributed the slowness to the inadequate equipment, noting there was only one machine.
Meanwhile in Kenema in the east of Sierra Leone, residents complained of having problems locating the new centres, after they went to the previous established and known places and found them closed.
A resident Ansumana Amara explained that they used to register and vote at Kerther Memorial United Methodist Church Compound at Seiya Street in the Simbeck section, but found the place empty when they went there early in the morning.
“We went to the place with hope that the centre will be opened but we could not see anybody there and we were worried’’, said Amara.
Nyandeyama section resident, Kumba Conteh, also said they used to register at Ahmadiyya Primary school near the Fisheries Market and at the Government Information Office, Maxwell Khobe Street, where they assembled t from 6:30am to 10:00 but could not see any registration officer to talk to them or direct them where to go.
For centres opened at Court Barry on Hangha road, Kpetema Market along Dama road, and Nasir Ahmadiyya Secondary School, the machines were initially not working, and had to be replaced.
Nyandeyama Centre Manager, Jusu Mohamed said officials from National National Election Watch (NEW) and ECSL visited the centre and observed the process, which he described as peaceful, and that the people cooperated fully.
Politico could not get the Kenema District Elections Manager, Augustine Saffa to respond to the concerns raised by the people.
People in Bo Southern Sierra Leone are meanwhile calling for more sensitization to ensure people come out, with Politico noticing low turnout.
Francis Balema Musa, Bo District Electoral Manager who is also the assistant deputy director Southern Region reacted to the the concerns raised by the public.
"It is our constitutional mandate to educate the people so that they know. We have been educating the public on voter registration and we will continue to do so", he said.
He said the centre at Word Power Church at Musa Street started the registration but had problem with the machine which they have reported for it to be replaced.
Politico learnt that more other ECSL staff reported problem of machines at their warehouse in Bo.
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