By: Ilyasa Baa
Over three million Voters Identity Cards are currently stuck at an airport in France due to airline protest leading to postponement of the distribution exercise which was slated from 17th to 26th March.
According to the Director of Media at the Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone (ECSL), Raymond George, they will commence distribution of the cards on April 6th noting that anyone who fails to collect his or her cards on the slated date, will have to reach the Commission’s centres across the country to collect their identity cards for themselves.
He informed that the contract for the printing of the cards was awarded to a certified company in Greece with a total value of one million four hundred and thirty-three thousand Dollars ($1,433,000) to print the cards and since there was no local company to do the work in country. He said the first batch of voters’ ID cards will land at the Freetown International Airport by Saturday this week.
Raymond George has dispelled rumours that the Commission worked in isolation regarding the awarding of the voters’ cards contract to a European company. He noted that the Commission has never printed voters’ cards in country but does award the contracts. He pointed out that the previous voters’ cards were printed by a company in South Africa for the 2018 elections.
Raymond George has promised that ECSL will provide adequate information to members of the public when the cards reach the country to avoid speculations by members of the public from different quarters.
After the distribution of the cards which is part of the pre -election stage, the Commission will get to the nomination stage, polling, counting and announcement of results as the final stage in the electioneering process.
Political activists had made a clarion call on people to get to the centres to massively collect their id cards from ECSL not to waste any time at all if they want to vote for positive change.
Meanwhile, the Commission had trained officials extensively to carry out the distribution exercise as required by law.
