The plenary of the House of Representatives is currently investigating the National Elections Commission (NEC) over its earlier announced biometric voter registration introduction.
The House’s decision stems from the appearance of the Chairperson of the National Elections Commission (NEC), Cllr. Davidetta Browne Lansanah, in plenary on Wednesday, September 7, 2022, at which time she provided information regarding concerns raised over the scheduled biometric voter registration introduction, which the lawmakers said was not convincing.
Following the NEC boss’s presentation, several questions were posted by lawmakers regarding the use of the biometric system in the rural parts of the country that do not have network. The questions were largely left unanswered, which led to a motion, filed by Montserrado County’s district #16 Representative, Dixon Seboe, forwarding the matter to the Committees on Elections & Inauguration and Contracts & Monopoly to further investigate the elections house and, at the same time, for the NEC to reappear in plenary to convey the technical knowhow.
Plenary said, in as much as biometric registration may be a good thing, it believes that the country’s electoral system is not yet prepared to absorb it.
Some lawmakers argued that the biometric system has never been tested at the community level or during any of the country’s recent by-elections and, as such, it may not be prudent to use to determine the outcome of the presidential and legislative election results.
Members of the House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted to have the NEC authorities turned over to the relevant committees for further investigation.