-People living with disabilities in Buchanan City complained about BVR Process
By: Elton Tiah
Citizens living with disabilities in Grand Bassa County have complained that the National Election Commission (NEC) did not prioritize them during the voter registration exercise in the county.
The biometric voter registration for the October presidential and general elections started in Grand Bassa County on March 20 and lasted until April 9, 2023.
The head of the Physically Challenged Youths in Grand Bassa, Jerry Laffa, complained that many of them did not register during the process because the NEC changed the application process to an online application.
“What do we know about online applications? Many of our team members barely afford their daily meals; how will they be able to pay people to apply for them online?”
He furthered, “Even me, I couldn’t apply, and because of the same problem, the majority of us didn’t go to work, which is totally bad, and this could discourage the voting of the physically challenged populace.”
Peter Jimmy, County Coordinator of the Group of 77, expressed disappointment in the NEC, adding that they need to take into consideration the disabled communities when they’re setting up their guidelines.
“The majority of us couldn’t go to work during the voter registration excise because of the application process, but we want them to think about us because many of us don’t know about this online application”.
He furthered, “Even if we want to apply, how do we get money to go to the computer shop to apply?” I am calling on the NEC to prioritize us in the upcoming election process”.
However, David Logan, NEC Grand Bassa Magistrate, told our reporters that they created an avenue for people living with disabilities to apply at the office.
Logan mentioned that “maybe many of them didn’t do follow-ups, but we actually had spaces for them”.
He stressed that the NEC will now work on more publicity but encouraged people living with disabilities to visit the county office of the NEC during electoral processes.
According to the NEC’s preliminary report, over 1.4 million people registered in the first phase of the voter registration excise in six counties.
The six counties in Phase One whose results are being released are Bomi, Margibi, Grand Bassa, Grand Cape Mount, Gbarpolu, and Montserrado. Bomi accounts for 64,395 registered voters, while Margibi accounts for 184,425; Grand Cape Mount is 86,589; Gbarpolu is 50,887; Grand Bassa is 157,712; and Montserrado is 891,201.
