NEC releases national voter listing timetable

“The decision to reschedule the referendum was due to slow progress in registration of an estimated 23 million voters using BVR” JUDGE DAMIAN LUBUVA, NEC CHAIRMAN 

By Frank Kimboy,The Citizen Reporter

Posted  Saturday, May 23  2015 at  08:23

In Summary

• The National Eelectoral Commission has received 6,450 biometric voter registration kits and the other 1,550 are expected any time from Monday. It gave an assurance that no eligible voters would be left out

Dar es Salaam. The National Electoral Commission (NEC) has released a new voter registration timetable that will be carried out by Biometric Voter Registration (BVR).

According to the NEC head of voter education and communication, Ms Ruth Mashamu, the exercise that kicked off in Njombe on 23 February is expected to end on 16 July in Dar es Salaam.

NEC has allocated 30 days of registration in all regions except Dar es Salaam. The city will have only 12 days even though Dar es Salaam has a higher number of eligible voters than other regions.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, Dar es Salaam has 2.9 million of the 24 million would-be voters across the country. Given previous experience, when NEC used more than 30 days to register 300,800 voters in Njombe, it would appear to be an impossible mission for NEC to register over 2.9 million voters in just 12 days.

But Ms Mashamu played down the concerns, saying  NEC has allocated 12 days to Dar es Salaam because all BVR kits will be used. “We have allocated 30 days in other regions because we are carrying out the exercise concurrently,” she explained, “but that won’t be the case for Dar es Salaam, where we will have enough BVR kits.”

NEC has already received a total of 6,450 BVR kits and the other 1,550 are expected any time from Monday. Ms Mashamu gave an assurance that no eligible voters would be left out. “We have allocated 30 days for other regions and 12 days for Dar es Salaam, but that doesn’t mean voters will be left out because of the deadline,” she added. “We will extend the deadline if need be.”

According to the timetable, NEC has set three days for voter listing in Zanzibar from 14 June to 16 June. The Isles have a total of 374,969 eligible voters. She also called on eligible voters to turn out and register when the exercise comes round to their regions.

NEC officials are listing voters using BVR in Mtwara and Lindi, where the exercise has been running from 24 April to 24 May. The registration drive continues in Ruvuma from 27 April to 28 May. It will be Iringa’s turn from 29 April to 29 May. Mbeya gets its turn from  19 May to 18 June. 

Katavi will be on board from 18 May to 17 June and Dodoma from 20 May to 19 June.   NEC officials are currently listing voters in Kigoma, Kagera, Singida and Tabora--where the exercise started on 21 May and is expected to be completed on 18 June.

Registration starts in Rukwa tomorrow  and runs to 23 June. From 2 June to 4 July, it will be the turn of Geita, Mwanza, Shinyanga and Simiyu. Morogoro, Coast. Tanga will be roped in from 18 June to 18 July.

According to Ms Mashamu, the voter registry will be open for verification shortly after the exercise is completed in each region. NEC has directed authorities in Njombe to make the registry available to voters so they can verify their details.

NEC has missed many of the registration timelines mainly because of delayed funding from the Treasury, leading to NEC calling  off the earlier schedule of the referendum that was set for 30 April.

NEC Chairman Justice Damian Lubuva said the decision to reschedule the referendum was due to slow progress in registration of an estimated 23 million voters using BVR.

Some stakeholders, including opposition politicians, have questioned the possibility of holding the General Election in October in light of the slow pace of voter registration. But the government has assured the nation that the General Election, which is scheduled for the last week of October, will be held according to plan.

Speaking in Parliament on the 2015/16 Budget of the Prime Minister’s Office, several ministers and Premier Mizengo Pinda assured the lawmakers and the nation in general that the government would do all it could to ensure the poll is not interrupted.