Voter registration off to a smooth start in Sierra Leone, UN mission reports

Potential voters began lining up today to register for upcoming elections in Sierra Leone, according to the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the country (UNAMSIL), which is supporting the process.

The two-week drive aims to register one third of the total population of Sierra Leone for presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled to take place in May.

UNAMSIL, which is providing logistical assistance for the voter registration, reported that the effort was “on course in many parts of the country, with minor delays elsewhere.”

In the townships of Makeni and Magburaka, scores of residents queued at centres to register, according to the mission. Election officials in those areas said they plan to transform every registration centre into a polling station.

In Makeni, operations proceeded smoothly, according to the Commanding Officer of UNAMSIL’s Nigerian Battalion 7. “Our peacekeepers provide storage facilities for the registration materials,” said Col. J.A.P. Oladipo. “We have also intensified our patrols to provide the needed security for the process and we can even provide escorts where needed.”