The highly-anticipated Biometric Voter’s Registration (BVR) exercise; one of the key components for the conduct of the Tuesday, October 10 Presidential and Legislative Elections in this year kicked off yesterday in six counties nationwide.
Those counties are Montserrado, Grand Bassa, Margibi, Grand Cape Mount, Gbarpolu and Bomi and shall run from Monday, March 20 to Sunday, April 9, 2023.
The exercise is phase one and registration have begun at centers identified though there are reports that besides Montserrado, counties like Grand Bassa, Grand Cape Mount, Gbarpolu, Bomi and Margibi speak of a slow start.
In Montserrado, before 7: A.M queues were already at some centers in central Monrovia like the G. W. Gibson High School situated at Haile Selassie Avenue, the St Simon Baptist School in Bassa Community, Monrovia Demonstration Primary (Elementary) on Clay Street, University of Liberia’s Campus on Capitol Hill as well as the C. D. B King Primary School and Bassa Community Town Hall.
The same at other centers in Paynesville District including the World-Wide Mission and Rick-C Daycare Schools located at Duport Road, Paynesville Town Hall, Paynesville Community High School at Joe Bar, the Mother Sarah School in Zubah Town as well as the Stronger Hope Central Academy, the exercise kicked off peacefully without much hindrance.
In Gardnersville Township and Logan Town, would-be registrants were in queues eager to get registered and for example; at the Mac Foundation Christian Academy, Salvation Christian Foundation, and the Boatswain Junior High School saw huge attendance.
Though, there were some delays at some centers due to those recruited, trained and deployed to do the work had trouble-shooting with the equipment usage and the process did not begin until supervisors arrived and made some corrections with those gadgets; the exercise then officially began.
Despite the poor start in attendance on the first day witnessing registrants awaiting NEC staff, the exercise at various centers visited by this paper so far were peaceful.
Meanwhile, the National Elections Commission (NEC) is pleased that the BVR kicked off as planned.
NEC admitted that it is aware that there were some minor technical glitches on day one, basically to do with lack of understanding by some of our temporary staff on how to operate the technology adding that as with the introduction of every technology, it is not unusual for glitches to occur and be corrected.
The commission acknowledged that at VR centers today, technicians were on hand to resolve any challenges, and registrants and observers can attest that there were improvements during the day.
The NEC assures the public that despite the initial glitches, the commission is fully prepared to implement the biometric registration of voters and guarantees that as we address these challenges, the process will run smoothly.
“BVR is new to Liberia, and we want to assure Liberians that we are learning how to do this together and the commission wishes to thank all Liberians who turned out today and registered. We are proud of history and call on Liberians 18 years and above to register in the Phase One counties,” the NEC release stated.
