By J. Ebenezer Daygbor
The Vice Standard Bearer of the Coalition for Democratic Change, Bong County Senator Jewel Howard Taylor, has described as troubling and politically worrisome the recently published voter registration listing by the National Elections Commission (NEC).
There is the public outcry that the list does not capture the names of a significant number of eligible voters, who registered during the Voters registration period. There omissions of many names of registered voters from the voter roll currently on exhibition by NEC.
Speaking to a cross-section of opinion leaders in Gbarnga, Bong County, over the weekend, Senator Taylor disclosed that while the current voters roll on display is provisional, the response of NEC to this “grave situation is inadequate, evasive and unacceptable”.
She called on the National Elections Commission to provide adequate clarification on its stated position, that all those who have voter registration cards would be allowed to vote without prior verification and validation as should be done during the voter roll exhibition process.
Senator Taylor indicated that it would be a monumental error of judgment should NEC, which has the constitutional duty to ensure free, fair and transparent elections, be allowed to pursue a path which seemingly eliminates a critical component of the electoral process, which is the validation and verification of all registered voters through a voters roll exhibition exercise, prior to the determination of the total number of registered voters across the country.
The CDC deputy standard bearer says the Coalition recalls that during the voters registration exercise, a number of arrests were made of individuals allegedly producing voter’s registration cards, outside the NEC system. Additionally, many aliens were also apprehended with voters registration cards bearing the names of these foreigners.
‘All of these occurrences point to the urgent need for a thorough voters roll exhibition process so as to provide an opportunity to cleanse the national voters registry as one of the guarantees to a free, fair and transparent elections in October,” Sen. Taylor said.
The Coalition Vice Standard Bearer maintains that while the CDC supports the idea that all registered voters must be provided an opportunity to participate in the 2017 elections, it is absolutely imperative that the NEC rectifies the existing inadequacies, upgrade the current voters registry, with no cost to registered voters, and then carry out the exhibition process, as required, so as to restore the credibility and integrity of the 2017 electoral process.
The Coalition for Democratic Change therefore calls on the NEC to immediately correct the errors which have the propensity to engender confusion and misunderstanding in the electoral process. As a major stakeholder in the electoral process, the CDC, once again, calls on all stakeholders , including the National Election Commission, to reaffirm their commitment to ensuring a free, fair and transparent electoral process based on the rule of law, and consistent with the Farmington River Declaration.
