By Mabinty M. Kamara
The main opposition All People’s Congress (APC) has condemned the decision by the National Civil Registration Authority (NCRA) to register and verify citizens for the purpose of the voter list.
In a press conference held on Thursday, the party described the move as “illegal” as it’s within the mandate of the Authority.
National Secretary General of APC, Alhaji Osman Foday Yansaneh, said they had already written a letter to President Julius Maada Bio clearly stating their position on the issue.
A copy of the letter was presented to the media.
“Your Excellency will agree with us that as of this moment, you are the only person with the sole mandate to declare for the registration of new voters or verification of new voters. Similarly sir, you cannot just make a declaration orally. But it has to be done through statuary instruments that first need to be laid in parliament procedurally and with specific legal time frames within which such declaration can mature and become functional,” a portion of the letter reads.
In the letter, Mr Yansaneh accused the Director General of NCRA of usurping functions of the National Electoral Commission (NEC).
APC’s condemnation of the NCRA follows a public statement issued by the authority last week, calling on Sierra Leoneans to verify information provided to the authority during the voter registration process in 2017.
The statement said that only those whose details were in the Permanent Civil Register would be eligible to obtain Biometric National Identification Cards and to vote in all public elections beginning with the 2022 Local Council Elections.
“It is a badly plotted political maneuver by the SLPP Government to rig the 2023 elections,” Yansaneh said, warning that they could call on their members to boycott any process by the NCRA if it didn’t follow due process.
The NCRA has however vowed to proceed with the verification. Responding to the APC’s position, when contacted by Politicom,
Thomas B. Sowa, Director of Information and Communication, insisted that it’s within their mandate according to Section 25 of the NCRA Act. He said the confirmation of personal data will end on the 31st March. He added that in consultation with other relevant stakeholders, they decided to do it by regions based on considerations for logistics, human resource and other factors which could not allow them to be across the country at the same time.
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