The Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone (HRCSL) today September 3rd, 2022 monitored the start of voter registration by the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone (ECSL) in Freetown and other parts of the country.
The objective of the Commission’s monitoring exercise was to ascertain whether all related rights pertaining to the process are being adhered to by ECSL officials.
The voter registration exercise for the 2023 multitier elections will run for a period of one month; from September 3rd to October 4th, 2022 in two phases; phase one from 3rd – 17th September and phase two from 20th September to 4th October 2022.
The HRCSL team in Freetown and the eastern region observed that the registration process started after the stipulated time of 7:00 am announced by ECSL in majority of the centers monitored.
Challenges observed in the centers visited include the non-presence of NCRA officials, late delivery of registration materials, faulty and wrong Data Entering Machines in some of the centers in Freetown. Long distances from Registration Centers to remote communities cut off by swelling rivers and streams thereby affecting the participation of vulnerable persons was also noted.
Despite the challenges highlighted, registration and confirmation of would-be voters are in progress even though at a slow pace. A considerable number of would-be voters were seen in queues waiting to be registered.
©️ HRCSL Communications Team
