The Electoral Commission has dismissed three temporary officials following the theft of registration forms during the voter registration exercise at the Sagnarigu Municipality in the Northern Region.
The three, according to the EC were “manning the registration kits” at the District Office in the Municipality when the theft occurred.
“On Saturday 4th July, 2020, the Electoral Commission was formally notified of the theft of eight FORM IA forms from its District Office at the Sagnarigu Municipality in the Northern Region. The forms were stolen by a polling agent of one of the political parties.
“The said Agent by name Alhassan Abdullai Mohammed has been apprehended by the Police and will be dealt with in accordance with the law,” portions of a statement issued by the EC said.
The said polling agent in question was earlier arrested.
EC warns against offences
Already, the EC has urged the public to desist from engaging in activities that undermine laws governing voter registration exercise in the country.
It follows what it has observed to be electoral offences in the on-going nationwide mass registration exercise.
Notable among the issues are attempts by some applicants to register at different centres other than their places of residence.
“Per law, an applicant can only register in a location where he/she resides or is ordinarily resident for not less than 12 months before registration”, a statement from the EC said.
Among other things, the electoral management body is cautioning against the following:
- Presence of non-accredited persons at some Registration Centres.
- Illegal possession and distribution of the Commission’s forms
- Defacing of Posters and Movement Plans of the Commission posted at the Registration Centres.
“The Commission wishes to remind the public that only persons with accreditation are allowed to observe the process at the Registration Centres. All applicants are expected to leave the Registration Centres after registering. All eligible Applicants are required to wait for the registration team to get to their respective centres before attempting to register. We wish to caution the public against defacing any poster or Movement Plan of the Commission”, the EC noted.
It said the above offences are punishable by law where offenders pay a fine or term of imprisonment or both.
The Commission has however asked the public to disregard social media reports suggesting that some of its registration centres across the country have been closed down.
The EC is embarking a nationwide voter registration exercise towards the compilation of a new electoral roll for the December presidential and parliamentary elections.
Below is the statement from the EC