NEC Provides Updates on BVR Outcome -Records 2,498,904 Total registrants, 2,471,183 Active Registrants -Candidate Nominations Start June 14, 2023

MONROVIA: The National Elections Commission (NEC) yesterday, Monday, June 5, 2023 provided updates on the outcome of the recently conducted Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) where it announced the provisional disaggregated figures of a total of 2,498,904 registrants and 2,471,183 active registrants and also announced a pending exhibition of the Provisional Registration Roll (PRR) and the 2023 candidate nomination exercise for the October 10 Presidential and Legislative elections.

Reading the results yesterday, the Chairperson of NEC, Madam Davidetta Brown- Lassanah said the provisional disaggregated figures were obtained at the county, electoral district, and registration centers levels from the 2023 Biometric Voter Registration in the fifteen counties of Liberia after data synchronization, deduplication and adjudication.

She said NEC recorded a total of 2,498,904 registrants from the 2023 Biometric Voter Registration exercise after the completion of the data synchronization process where Montserrado County topped the rest of the county with 914,577 registrants made up of 458,574 females and 456,003 are males followed by Nimba County with 308, 808 registrants made up of 155,683 females and 153,125 males.

“After the registration exercises in phase 1 and phase 2, the NEC commenced the deduplication process through the Biometric Central Management System. Of the 2,498,904 registrants, a total number of 2,471,183 are reported as active registrants. 27,192 registrants were flagged as duplicates across the 15 counties, while 529 registrants were flagged as suspected underage across the 15 counties. These records are being investigated through the adjudication process. All ineligible registrants will be removed and where warranted, their names will be referred to the Ministry of Justice for prosecution.

“With respect to the on-going investigation of the 529 suspected underage registrants, the Commission remains mindful in addressing the matter, since registrants in this category may be minors and therefore have a heightened degree of privacy under the law”, Madam Brown-Lassanah said.

According to the sex disaggregated figures obtained from each county which NEC said will be adjusted after the investigation of the duplicates and suspected underage cases at the end of the Exhibition of the Provisional Registration Roll (PRR) more females registered to vote in the exercise with a total number of 1,237,063 representing 50.06% as opposed to the male figure of 1,234,120 representing 49.94%.

“These figures are fully disaggregated per Electoral Districts and Voter Registration Centers. The details will be shared with stakeholders at the end of the briefing and will also be posted on the NEC’s website and at the 2080 Centers across the Country during the exhibition period.    

“Persons Disabilities (PWDs): 12,399 Persons with Disabilities registered during the voter registration period, across the 15 counties of Liberia.

“Fellow Liberians, with the use of the online Personal Data Entry platform, which helped significantly to reduce the time it took to process a registrant at the Registration Center, the Commission successfully captured the data of 534,286 persons through this medium”, She further said.

In a related development, the NEC said the Exhibition of the Provisional Registration Roll will commence on 12 June and end on 17 June 2023. It said during this period, all 2080 Registration Centers will become Exhibition Centers and will be opened simultaneously across the country from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM daily and encourages registrants to visit the Centers where they registered.

“The Exhibition is to give registrants the opportunity to reaffirm their registration details; request corrections where necessary; and object to inclusion of persons on the Final Registration Roll (FRR). To ensure that only eligible voters remain on the voters’ roll, it is important that the public bring forward all concerns during the exhibition period”, she said.

Madam Brown-Lassanah used the occasion to also inform political parties, coalitions, alliances, and independent aspirants that, based on the electoral timeline, the nomination of candidates for the 10 October 2023 General Elections, which is a critical element in the electoral process, will begin on 14 June 2023 and end at 5:00 PM on 14 July 2023 at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex.

She said Nomination packages can be picked up at the nomination center at the S.K.D. Sports Complex, beginning June 12, 2023 and throughout the nomination period.

“The Commission extends gratitude to all electoral stakeholders, including local, regional and international partners, the Ministry of Justice and the National Security Agencies, including the Liberia National Police and the Liberia Immigration Service, owners of properties used by the NEC, the suppliers of the Biometric Kits and Software, Laxton, Neurotechnology and 3D, all temporary and permanent staff of the National Elections Commission for their work and  fervent participation and love for Liberia demonstrated throughout the conduct of the Biometric Voter Registration exercise.

“In closing, the Commission assures all Liberians, and other electoral actors that the NEC will continue to work with all stakeholders and the public to ensure the successful conclusion of the 2023 Presidential and Legislative Elections”, she concluded.