The National Electoral Commission (NEC) has so far issued a total of one million, four hundred and fifty-five thousand, four hundred and seventy-one (1,455,471) biometric voter identification cards countrywide. The Commission has distributed 240,050 cards in the Easter Region, 503,742 in the North, 280,077 in the South and 431,602 in the Western Area respectively.
This was disclosed on Monday 9th July 2012 by the Chief Electoral Commissioner Dr. Christiana Thorpe, during a press conference held at the commission’s headquarters in Freetown. According to Dr. Thorpe, at the end of the field data, a total of two million, seven hundred and one thousand, two hundred and ninety-nine (2,701,299) registrants were recorded in the bio-metric voter registration process. She said the last week of August is being slated for final distribution of voter ID cards in the respective wards. The NEC boss used the forum to remind the public that there is no room for any electoral violence adding that the commission is closely working with the security apparatus to ensure that the entire process is peaceful.
Dr. Thorpe further revealed that, eleven thousand six hundred and thirty-six (11,636) re-registrations are currently being done in ten affected districts across the country. According to her, there were reports of 41 centres with missing data adding that the data of 31 of these centres have been traced as misallocated data to other centres. She further said that the ID cards have been identified and that technical arrangements are being effected for them to be sent back to their correct centres of origin. She finally told newsmen that seven hundred and ninety-four suspected cases of fraudulent multiple registration have been formally handed over to the Sierra Leone Police for investigation whilst further using the forum to commend the police for providing adequate security for the exercise nationwide.
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Newspaper in Freetown, Sierra Leone.
