By Saio Marrah
The Leader of Government Business in the house of parliament, Mathew Nyuma, has said the compulsory part of the National Identification Number (NIN) for voter registration will be expunged from the Public Election Bill of 2022 so that citizens will not be disenfranchised to cast their votes in public elections.
Nyuma said this in the house of parliament during the final debate of the second reading of the bill on Monday 18th July 2022.
The rationale for this, Nyuma, said is due to the fact that “clause 24 which says you ‘may’ present NIN conflicts with [clause 13] which makes it is ‘mandatory’ “and I think I reckon with the leader of the opposition and these are some of the things that we need to accept and it will be good for us,” he said, adding that Clause 24 will be retained.
He said the issue of age and citizenship has long been addressed since 2012 with clear parameters set.
He added that they should make voter registration flexible for people and added that “It is very important for people to register. We are here …because we were voted for. So we should protect those who are going to register and vote for us. We should not make it cumbersome, we should make it flexible, but within the ambit of the law,” he said.
He made the pronouncement after several calls from members of the main opposition including their leader, Chernor Maju Bah, who said that the mandatory use of the NIN for voter registration is in contravention of section 31 of the constitution of Sierra Leone which provides that for one to be eligible for voter registration, he or she should be a citizen, attain the age of 18 and above, and with a sound mind.
Therefore, he said the constitution does not make the National Identification Number compulsory for voter registration.
The main opposition leader noted that the United State of America which was referenced by his colleague MPs as one of the countries that have the NIN mandatory for voter registration did not adopt such a law in a hurry but it took them time.
Copyright © 2022 Politico Online (22/07/22)
