COURTESY OF DAILY OBSERVER

Efforts are being made to register Gambians abroad as voters in the October
presidential elections. This was disclosed Thursday by Gabriel Roberts,
chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), at a press
conference on the imminent voters registration exercise.

However, according to him, the exercise would only be done in countries
where Gambians are many. On the planned voters registration exercise, Mr
Roberts said it was to enable the commission update its data on eligible
voters. He added that the first phase of the exercise "has been the
upgrading of our computer network and the development of new database
software that will not only be more robust and allow greater data
manipulation, but will also take care of the other problems associated with
the 1996 registration system."

Mr Roberts pointed out that the new registration exercise would ensure that
voters are registered not just anywhere within their constituency, but
within the ward they live in and at the same station they will cast their
vote on election day. The IEC boss explained that the exercise would render
the records of the 1996 exercise obsolete and that all Gambians must
register again, regardless of whether they currently have a voter's card or
not.

He announced that Monday, May 21 would be the first day of the registration
exercise which would end on Saturday, June 30, noting that "though
registration will be on throughout this period, not all registration
stations will be opened and closed at the same time.'' Only the new voter's
card, he said, would be accepted at the polling booths on election days.

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