For June 24 Elections…. Using 2018 Voters Registration Data Could Jeopardize Credibility of Elections

 For June 24 Elections….

Using 2018 Voters Registration Data Could Jeopardize Credibility of Elections

By Kelvin Jay

News filtering into Voice of Salone Newspaper on Tuesday night state that the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone (ECSL), is planning to use the 2018 Voter Registration data for the upcoming elections slated for June 24, a situation that could be the reason behind the APC’s request for the data to be provided early enough to give political parties the opportunity to go through the data and bring out objections, if there are any.

It could be recalled that the main opposition party has been calling relentlessly on the ECSL to provide it with the Voters Registration data, but to date, this has not been done. According to party officials, the data provided did not cover what they asked for, and are still waiting on the electoral body to do the needful, which is required by law.

Sources say that a closed-door meeting was held at State lodge between the Chief Electoral Commissioner, Mohamed Konneh, and some members of the Government, where the possibility of using the 2018 registration data was discussed, allegedly as a result of insufficient and comprehensive data for the upcoming elections.  Prior to this information, the main opposition party is of the view that the election may be rigged in favour of the ruling party by the ECSL, and this they have attributed to blatant refusal of the electoral body to publish the disaggregated data for the 2023 voters’ registration.

The failure of the ECSL to comply with the dictates of the Public Elections Act, which guides the conduct of any election in the country, has been seen by many, including political parties as a potential for electoral rigging and its ramification on the opposition party’s chances of success. This view has gained wide currency, as even during phone-in programs on radio and television, people are asking about the said data and requesting the ECSL to publish same.

However, political analysts are of the view that the decision to use outdated voter registration data poses significant challenges and implications for opposition parties. This data, they opined, would exclude young would be voters who have now turned 18, and registered in the recent Voter Registration process, effectively denying them the right to exercise their franchise, which is a fundamental Human Right that is enshrined in the country’s Constitution.

Opposition parties believe that the flawed census figure that Statistics Sierra Leone produced, which reduced the population in areas believed to be strongholds of the main opposition party, like Bombali and Western Area, and increased population in areas believed to be strongholds of the ruling party like Kenema and Bo, could be merged with the 2018 Voter Registration figures to give the ruling party an edge over the opposition party, the APC (its main contender).

It could be recalled that the Western Area Urban figures were disputed by the then Mayor, Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, who wrote a letter to the Stats SL boss then, raising her concerns and providing evidence of a recent household survey that her Council had done, which indicated some 70, 000 new households have been identified.

Interestingly, the Census figure put the population of Western Urban at 606 thousand plus people, and ironically, the figure of the ECSL Voters Register for Western Area Urban disclosed that some 538 thousand plus people of voting age were registered, which incidentally means that the number of people below voting age that remained in the Western Area Urban is less than 50,000. Are we to believe that the number of school going pupils below the age of 18 in Primary and secondary schools, and those in pre-primary schools, plus the below 3 years old in Western Urban Area, are within the range of 50,000? This could probably be the reason for the request for the Voter Registration data, some social commentators maintained.

In the absence of such data, there is the tendency that the opposition party may not accept the results produced by the ECSL at the end of the day, and the attending consequences is not what Sierra Leoneans want.

Political analysts say that the controversy surrounding the release of voter registration data for Sierra Leone’s 2023 general election raises significant concerns about the transparency and fairness of the electoral process. The decision to utilize outdated voter registration data from the 2018 election undermines the inclusivity of the democratic process, potentially excluding eligible voters who have turned 18 or registered since 2018. This move benefits the incumbent government by limiting the influence of potential opposition voters and consolidating their power. However, it has implications for opposition parties, as it denies them access to a potentially large voter base and raises questions about the integrity of the election. The stakeholders involved must address these concerns to ensure a transparent, inclusive, and credible electoral process in Sierra Leone.