By: Kebba AF Touray
The Office of the Ombudsman has recommended for the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), to undertake adequate voter education in subsequent elections.
The Office made these recommendations in its 2022 activity report and financial statements presented before members of the Finance and Public Accounts Committee of the Legislature (FPAC) for scrutiny, consideration and adoption.
The office made this recommendation specifically in its activity report on the presidential election in 2022, from which the observations resulting to these recommendations emanated.
“The IEC should undertake adequate voter education in subsequent elections in relation to the number of polling booths at polling stations, and how the distribution of booths is expected to affect voters. Any changes relating to extra polling stations / booths introduced to prevent a recurrence of the chaos should be adequately disseminated to the affected communities before election day,” the Office of the Ombudsman recommended.
The office underscored that true democracy requires that elections are based on sound practice and procedures that lends credence to the entire process, and it requires that the right of a people to vote is fully protected.
“In light of the above, we observed the process in order to ensure that the rights of the people are protected, and to determine if the Commission has executed its mandate in a free, fair, transparent and credible manner,” the Office said. The Office however lamented that due to resource constraints, they could not embark on election observations before Election Day and therefore, they did not observe campaign and related activities, but deployed a twenty-member team to observe the process.
“We did our best to sample polling stations in all the electoral regions. A total of 120 polling stations were visited, and our observers covered the opening and close of polls and the counting of ballots at polling stations,” the Offfice indicated.
According to the office, they did not observe the collation process at collation centers, and observed that some of the polling stations did not open exactly at 8am, but in general, there was timely opening of polls because the delay was not significant enough to affect the process.
For all the polls that were opened in their presence, the office indicated that it is their expressed view this was done in a transparent manner, with the exceptional concern that presiding officers did not count the ballot tokens in the presence of polling agents prior to the opening of polls.
The Office also observed that queuing was handled in a manner that caused great inconvenience to many, and the IEC did not educate voters on what to expect at polling stations in terms of the expected number of polling booths at polling stations, and how they should find out which queues to join. As a result, the Office said voters were moving from one booth to another.
“The voting procedures were generally followed, and we did not observe any interference by anyone during the process. The atmosphere at polling stations was peaceful with a high turnout, and voters waited patiently and demonstrated great determination to remain in the long queues to exercise their constitutional right,” the Office disclosed.
The Office also observed that voters did not come in party colors or symbols, and that there were no signs of unofficial or secret campaigning by voters or political parties and their agents; that rather, the day was treated as election day by all stakeholders.
“As required, political banners and slogans were not reportedly visible at polling stations. IEC demonstration banners or pictures were printed in black and white but of poor quality. We saw faded pictures on small papers instead of fit-for- purpose quality pictures,” the Office said.
The Office however indicated that although voting was largely peaceful and orderly, isolated incidents of chaos were reported; that quarrelling among voters was reported at a polling station, saying at other stations, it was reported to be exceedingly chaotic which almost degenerated into a fight.
The Office observed that many independent observers both international and domestic participated in observing the election, and visible efforts could be seen on the part of the authorities for voters to comply with Covid 19 prevention protocols.
“This was not sufficient to conclude that the protocols were observed. It was observed at some of the polling stations that some of the new ballot drums had smaller holes through which some ballot tokens could not pass,” the Office said.
The Office pointed out that these problems were addressed when they were detected and that most of polling stations were properly laid out to provide easy access to voters.
“In terms of access to persons with disabilities, a number of polling stations which had booths erected by the IEC provided easy access for them,” he said.
“We also observed that some of the polling booths were placed in classrooms with raised verandas which were not easily accessible, and polls closed at 5pm. We did not observe people being admitted to polling stations after close of polls,” the Office said. The Office said voters who were in the queue at polling stations before 5pm, were allowed to vote and as a result of the huge turnout, the voting process continued well beyond 5pm; that closing and counting procedures were also duly followed, and the counting process was done in a transparent manner.
“The Independent Electoral Commission should increase the number of polling stations in order to avoid the chaos reported at some polling stations, as a result of the huge number of voters at polling stations,” the Office recommended, and said the IEC, should make the polling booths more accessible to persons with disability.
“Schools or places where rooms were utilized had enough space for erecting booths on the ground. It is recommended that this strategy be employed for increased accessibility for persons with disabilities,” the Office recommended.
The Office also recommended that voters should have information on what to expect at polling stations saying the names of voters should be written boldly and pasted on walls or booths at polling stations, to facilitate easy identification of voting centers.
“There should be retraining or reorientation for polling assistants with a view to make them more proactive and visible at polling stations, and to help in addressing the difficulties faced by voters in relation to identifying their voting centers,” it recommended.
The Ombudsman’s Office also stated that the IEC should ensure that any material or equipment earmarked for use in the electoral process is tested and ensures that it is fit for purpose before it is deployed.
