ON MARCH 20, 2023, one of the key components of our Presidential and Legislative Elections kicked off in six of the 15 counties and this exercise is expected to run for 21 days inclusive of Saturdays and Sundays.
THE COUNTIES IN the phase one exercise are Montserrado, Margibi, Grand Cape Mount, Grand Bassa, Gbarpolu and Bomi where the process has gotten underway peacefully but at a slow pace to the admiration of registrants because it’s the country’s first experience of an electronic voter’s registration process.
DAY ONE TILL now still experiences hiccup at various registration centers as a result of the uncalled-for delays while electorates have to stand in the scotching sun in what appears to be queues for hours without understanding the least what is unfolding or might be the possible problem.
AT TIMES, RESIDENTS either get discouraged or become aggressive before being registered though the Commission’s admittance is that it on day one it was due to minor technical hitches, basically the lack of the understanding of the technology by their temporary staff.
THE COMMISSION SAID it is not unusual for hitches to occur and be corrected and acknowledged that the Voter’s Registration centers’ technicians were on hand to resolve the challenges; something we honestly agree with and know that the beginning of everything new is difficult, if not, impossible but with time, it gets better.
THIS SEEMS NOT to be the case, though we all might not be very surprised at the technological hitches admitted to by the NEC, this exercise was never tested in a single county instead introduced at a critical election as the Presidential and General elections and Liberians think this is normal.
SOME HAVE ALREADY built the perception that the NEC is doing this on purpose knowing that those less busy loud-mouth supporters will be the ones trooping at the centers while those working-class citizens, the vulnerable and the elderly might be caught up with the time because the process as it stands is demotivating.
COME TO THINK about this, having one computer and a single camera at a polling center of over 2,000 registrants and some of whom have filled the personal data entry form and should be only visiting those centers to get the biometric in order to obtain a card yet, they will have to wait in a queue with almost 10 persons ahead who did not fill the form, either because they have no android phone or are not knowledgeable about the online process.
THIS MUST SERVE as a serious concern not only to the Commission but also to the politicians as these have the propensity of discouraging eligible voters from obtaining a card and 21 days is just barely three weeks.
THE POLITICAL LEADERSHIPS as well as government officials might obtain their cards quickly due to status but how about the ordinary citizens as well as the disabled particularly the death and dumb? Until now, there are no interpreters to aide those with vulnerability.
IT IS WITHOUT doubt that the phase I counties are now being used as a litmus test for the entire exercise which is not a bad idea but the lapses are glaring ranging from temporary staffers inability to operate the equipment, the lateness of poll workers at the site on to the annoyingly long queues even if the registrants had reached the level for only biometric as well as the change in polling places.
