What has been seen by the media and other political parties as a calculated ploy by the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) led government to rig the 2023 general elections has been met with stiff resistance as it has been clearly exposed.
It could be recalled that the controversial decision by the SLPP led government to empower the National Civil Registration Authority (NCRA) to register citizens by end of March 2020 so as to enable them vote at public elections has been widely criticized.
According to critics, it is a gimmick by the ruling government to skillfully disfranchise many people in the opposition stronghold as the IT system is allegedly designed and programmed to distort registration figures in favour of the SLPP.
According to NCRA any one failing to register with the Authority will not be issued the biometric card to vote at public elections. This has been seen by other political parties as usurping the powers of the National Electoral Commission (NEC) which has the statutory responsibility to register voters and publish list for verification.
Section 33 of the 1991 Constitution states: “The Electoral Commission shall be responsible for the conduct and supervision of the registration of voters for, and of, all public elections and referenda; and for that purpose shall have power to make regulations by statutory instrument for the registration of voters.”