Monrovia — The National Elections Commission (NEC) preliminary results from Phase One of the Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) show that a total of 1,435,209 (one million four hundred thirty-five thousand two hundred and nine) citizens registered for the October elections.
According to the NEC, of this number, 711,410 (seven hundred eleven thousand four hundred and ten) are females while 723,799 (seven hundred twenty-three thousand seven hundred ninety-nine) are males.
The Commission emphasized that this figure is subject to change due to the ongoing deduplication and adjudication process.
At a news conference on Monday, the NEC, the chairperson of the NEC, Madam Davidetta Brown Lansanah, thanked the UNDP for supporting the Commission with 50 mini generators (5kva) to buttress the provision of electricity for BVR equipment for Phase Two, which begins on April 21 and ends on May 11.
"The NEC on Saturday, April 15, launched the Civic and Voter Education (CVE) campaign for Phase Two of the BVR exercise. According to Madam Davidetta Brown-Lansannah, while the main launch was done in Ganta City, Nimba County, there were simultaneous sub-launches at the 12 local magisterial offices in the nine Phase Two counties.
According to the NEC, members of the Board of Commissioners, senior-level staff, including election magistrates, local government officials, civil society, women, youths, and people living with disabilities participated in the CVE launch across the country.
"The Commission urges eligible Liberians in Phase Two to be ready to register in the nine counties of Bong, Grand Gedeh, Grand Kru, Lofa, Maryland, Nimba, River Gee, River Cess, and Sinoe. The NEC also encourages the use of the online Personal Data Entry application as an optional means of entering would-be registrants' data.
"This will help to fast track the completion of their registration at the registration centers where their thumbprints will be captured, photos taken, and ID cards issued."
The Commission further advises Liberians 18 years and above not to attempt to register more than once.
"It is a crime to get engaged in multiple registrations, and all perpetrators will be caught by the BVR system and turned over to the Justice Ministry for prosecution. Besides, such multiple registrants will be automatically deactivated by the BVR system. In other words, you could lose the opportunity to exercise your franchise during the October 10, 2023 General Elections."
With respect to funding the 2023 General Elections, in the Elections Budget for the Year 2022, the NEC says the GOL appropriated and approved the amount of US$20,000,000.00 (Twenty Million Dollars) for the NEC. In the Budget Year for 2023, the GOL appropriated and approved the amount US$33,000,000.00 (Thirty-Three Million) for the NEC, bringing the total budget for the two budget years to US$53,000,000.00 (Fifty-Three Million Dollars).
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To date, the MFDP has disbursed the amount of US$27,500,000.00 (Twenty-Seven Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars) out of the US$53,000,000.00, leaving a balance of US$25,500,000.00 (Twenty-Five Million Five Hundred Thousand).
Meanwhile, the Commission stated the payment of the honorarium of the temporary staff of Phase 1 began on Monday based on the contractual agreement.
"Finally, the Commission extends its thanks and appreciation to the people of Liberia for the great interest they have shown in the conduct of biometric voter registration in Liberia. This is indicated by the high turnout during the first phase and the support that field staff received from many property owners, who ensured the positioning and safety of our staff and BVR equipment in the field.
The NEC also extends thanks and appreciation to the international community, including observers, for the feedback that the Commission has been receiving on the BVR process. The NEC has also committed to a violence-free process. The Commission thanks the NEC staff for their diligence in supporting a smooth BVR process. Finally, we thank Liberians in general for their numerous phone calls reporting issues with the conduct of the BVR process to the Commission."
