By George M.O. Williams
Former President of Sierra Leone, Ernest Bai Koroma has on Monday September 5, 2022, urged the Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone (ECSL) to speedily address recurring challenges experienced in the voter registration process.
He made the statement at his resident in Makeni when he discussed with the Head of the European Union in Sierra Leone, Ambassador Manuel Muller. They discussed a range of issues, but focused particularly on issues related to Sierra Leone’s preparation for the 2023 elections in June.
President Koroma said that issues bordering on democracy and national cohesion formed part of their discussion.
He admonished the public to be patient in the face of the problems encountered during the registration process.
He averred that since the start of the ‘voter registration’ process, there had been widespread reports of significant logistical, technical and human resource inefficiencies in the registration process.
President Koroma recounted that the EU Ambassador and his team of observers had been to various registration centres to access the process and they had twitted about the process being marred with ‘technical challenges’.
He therefore called on ECSL to speedily look-into the challenges and institute immediate measures to address the looming challenges.
“I urge everyone to be patient, continue to try and register; ECSL to speedily address the recurring challenges hindering the registration process. Every eligible Sierra Leonean should be able to exercise this right,” said the former President.