On the 23rd January, 2012, PPRC’s attention was drawn to a press release issued by NEC on parallel voter registration by political parties. Subsequent to this, the Chair and Chief Electoral Commissioner of NEC filed a formal complaint to the PPRC on 7th February 2012 supported by evidence obtained from agents of the All Peoples Congress (APC) Party and the Sierra Leone’s People’s Party (SLPP). In response, PPRC summoned an emergency Commission meeting on the 9th February, to discuss and take a decision on the complaint. An outcome of the Commission’s meeting was a decision to issue a press release urging political parties to restrain from parallel voter registration and furthermore, refrain from pursuing activities that may be inimical to the registration process and the rights and safety of the electors.
The Commission notes with satisfaction that agents of APC and SLPP have refrained from parallel voter registration country wide.