Liberia Elections Commission Commends INEC Over CVR

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said the newly introduced technology into the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) has helped the Commission meet its mandate.

Prof Mahmood Yakubu communicated this on Friday when he led a delegation of the National Elections Commission of Liberia to Abuja’s CVR physical registration centre.

Yakubu noted that the new technology has helped eliminate the crowd at CVR centres compared to the previous experiences.

“So far so good, because quite a number of the pre-registrants have come on appointment to complete their registration.

“A number have also come to register physically because that is an option of physical registration, in addition to the completion of the online registration. “So far, you don’t see the kind of crowd that we used to see during registration.

“Recall that between 2017 and 2018, we conducted a CVR for 16 months, and we learnt from the experience of that exercise. That is why we now introduced more technology into the process.

“As you can see, the queue has disappeared, and we can serve Nigerians better for that reason,” he said.

The Commission’s chair added that INEC would continue to do so until the end of the exercise on June 30, 2022, to suspend the Commission’s process to compile the voter’s register ahead of the 2023 general elections.

Meanwhile, the Chairperson, National Elections Commission of Liberia, Davidetta Lansanah, has lauded INEC for sharing Nigeria’s experience with them.

She noted that the experience it has gathered would help her country adopt the CVR
According to her: “There are lessons that have been learned since we have been on this tour. We have seen that the electoral Commission of Nigeria has invested so much in technology in terms of the availability of the technology to Nigerians.

“This makes it important for Nigerians to come out to register ahead of the 2023 general elections in the country.

“Another lesson learned is that the earlier you start, the better the process.

“So, the continuous registration here in Nigeria, I think, creates the opportunity for an increase in the number of Nigerians taking advantage of the system,” Lansanah said.

She added that the Liberian team was elated to be in Nigeria for the study tour because there was so much to learn.
“I will say that while we have similarities, there are some differences with how we are proceeding. Your country is a great one.

“We know that a lot of Nigerians are upbeat with respect to the continuous voter registration that is now ongoing, and I can only hope that Nigerians will take advantage of this online registration process,” she said.