EC to open exclusive voter transfer window on October 20

The Electoral Commission (EC) will commence a voter transfer exercise from Tuesday, October 20, 2020, to Sunday, October 25, 2020.

The exercise in times past permitted registrants to transfer votes from one constituency to the other before the voting day but this year’s exercise will be different.

Previously, one desiring to transfer his or her vote from one constituency to another ought to do so six months to the election.

But this year, due to the compilation of the new voters’ register, it means there is not enough time for that unless the current C.I. is amended.

The Director of Electoral Services at the EC, Dr. Serebour Quarcoe told Citi News that only students and security services who registered outside their jurisdiction will be allowed to take part in the exercise.

“By law, not less than 42 days to the elections, we should allow for transfers. With the new C.I. 127, it is only students and security services outside their jurisdiction who can transfer. This will be done from 20th to the 25th of this month. Once we finish with that, we have over two weeks to work on the final register.”

He indicated the exercise will allow the commission to compile the final register which will be made available to all political parties by November 11.

“All those who qualify to apply for special voting, that is the media, security services, and EC officials are to apply on the 25th of this month. We will put these ones on the absent voter’s list so that we will have the actual polling station register for each of them. Then the Electoral Commission will hand over the final register to political parties on November 11.”

The EC began the compilation of the new voters’ register on Tuesday, June 30, 2020, and ended on Sunday, August 9, 2020.

The exercise which was conducted in six phases saw 16,963,306 persons registered onto the new voters’ register.