NEC’s possible failures

Sierra Leone is witnessing a slow turnout of voter registration ahead of the November polls, and the reasons seem to be numerous.

Many reasons have been proffered for the causes connected with the slow turnout. However, within the plethora of reasons, the phase system dominates as the most prominent among the reasons.

The first District Proportional Registration System was smart and fast as it allowed an easy walk-in system of registration.

Second, the charts were verily then, easy to fill with ink pens and the smart instant camera processes the voters’ Identity Cards at once. Also, the time consumed in this whole exercise was less.

This time, the experience is different.  Sierra Leoneans are caught in the midst of economic worries, which mean they are paying lesser chances to exercise their franchise. Another excuse has been the lack of attraction our politicians have imbibed in their execution of state functions. Records are available how most of them came into politics to only line their pockets with tax payers’ monies.

The masses have been the end losers; and for such reason they have chosen to pay less attention in politics. The long and short of it all is that the masses find it difficult to spare time from their busy day schedules of eeking out their living to spend their important income generating activity registering.

NEC laid these experiences at their back and decided to bring in a more complex system of voter registration which is going with lots of constraints.

Now, we are aware that the registration machines and data processors are not enough and that a vast pool of staff NEC employed are literally inefficient with the biometric system.

It happened that when the people moved in their first zeal to register they found no registration centers available due to the rotation policy of ward routine, albeit the lack of enough equipment for such an activity.

Currently, the turnout is low and the people are more in despair following NEC’s incrimination of double registration. We are not disputing the fact that those with the tendency of dual registration are not or should not be considered as criminals rather we are saying that the country is playing host to a population of more that 75% of illiterate persons. The biometric system is even cumbersome to the educated elites not to talk more of those none enlightened masses in the rural areas.

This reasoning is more extant in the Provinces where a good number of persons were being arrested for dual registrations. What has been happening is that some people would travel long distances to secure their registration in order to avoid being disenfranchised.  The fear is that if they do not travel to these centers they will lose the opportunity of voting. When people later realize that the centers near them are also working they consider the option of reducing the distance of register once again. While the first is criminal, the second is based on the double confidence that they are going to vote.

However, NEC is now facing the slow turnout drama as many who have not registered are bound by the fear that they are going to be arrested for doing so again. Sierra Leone is cultured with people who are afraid of being arrested.

Therefore, inasmuch as the looming threat of incrimination hangs, it is going to give NEC a bottle’s neck in getting their expected turnout.

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