Greetings on behalf of the Grouping of CSOs! We trust that this e-mail finds you and your colleagues well. We, the delegation representing the Grouping of CSOs who met with your office in January, have taken note of the re-opening of the Parliamentary Elections Office and have seen a notice advising of the availability of the official Consolidated List of Electors at June 30 for inspection.
We therefore write to request a meeting with your office soonest on the progress re the reissuance of Voter Identification cards and to receive clarification/information on queries raised in our correspondence of January 20.
We take the opportunity to offer the following observations: – We have visited the website of the Parliamentary Elections Office, looking for the notice re the availability of the official Consolidated List. There was no notice on the site. We think that it is reasonable to assume that the notice would be on this site. We have sought to verify whether our names are on the list via the website of the Parliamentary Elections Office.
We could not access the list. Since we have not yet replaced our cards, we therefore assume that our names are no longer on the list. Are now disenfranchised given that we have not yet replaced our cards? Via the notice appearing on a media platform, we have been informed that the list is only available at one location in each constituency. This is quite unusual and not at all voter friendly.
Normally, lists are available in prominent places across the constituency, in every polling division. COVID-l9 and the subsequent lockdown of the country affected the process of registration/Voter ID replacement. This would suggest that a significant number of persons have not yet replaced their cards. What provisions has your office made/is making to address the registration of shut-ins?
We look forward to a response soonest to our request for this meeting so that the dialogue began in January can be continued. Indeed, permit us to recommend, Sir, that your office makes good on the follow-up meeting with stakeholders promised in the January meeting.
Sandra C A Ferguson, Grouping of Civil Society Organisations
