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Voter list update every three months
The Election Commission is seeking Government approval to update the electoral register every three months to include persons reaching the age of 18 so that they will be eligible to vote, a senior official said. The Commission also has proposed that the electoral register be updated in February, instead of the current practice in June, Election Commission Director General M.M. Mohamed told the Sunday Times.
He said Parliament would have to pass an amendment to the Registration of Voters Act of 1980 to implement the new move. “The objective is to ensure that as soon as persons reach the age of 18, they are included in the voters’ register,” he said. Mr. Mohamed said if the proposal was approved in Parliament, the commission would be able to update the register from next month. This would be made use of for the elections this year.
The DG said another reason for the proposal was the difficulty the commission experience in collecting the forms in June because of rain during that period.According to the latest electoral register updated in June last year, 15,992,096 persons are eligible to vote, showing an increase of 231,229 compared to the previous year.
With the next 20 months three elections – Provincial Council, Presidential and Parliamentary elections — are due to be held.
Mr Mohamed said that in some countries the voter register was updated frequently on regular basis with some doing it on a monthly basis.