Togo-Parliamentary elections: Start of voter registration

As part of the parliamentary and municipal elections scheduled for this year in Togo, voter registration started on Saturday April 29, 2023 throughout the country.

Indeed, voter registration centers opened their doors last Saturday in all five regions of the country for this operation.

So far, activities are generally progressing well, but shortcomings were reported early on by a political party.

In a press release, the Dynamics for the Majority of the People (DMP) which closely follows the operation noted irregularities during this 1st day while insisting on the need to review the process.

The results of the observations of the first day are unsatisfactory for this new grouping of political parties and associations.

“Throughout all of zone 1 where operations are scheduled for this first phase, the CELIS were only able to provide the census materials to the census and voting centers (CRV) from 11:30 a.m. in the best of cases and around 2:30 p.m. or even 3 p.m. for many other centers,” read the press release.

“The census materials did not work at all throughout the day in some places, forcing people to go back and forth several times without being able to register. (Example): Aflao Soviepe.”

The political party also criticizes the data entry operators for having required voters to present old cards before being issued the new one, “which is a violation of the electoral code”.

For these reasons , the DMP asks the officials of the CENI and the CELIS to urgently take appropriate measures to correct the anomalies and dysfunctions. It also wants the authorities to start considering the possibility of extending the period provided for the issuance of voter’s ID cards in some areas.

As a reminder, according to the program of the electoral commission, the establishment of the electoral lists will end on June 03, 2023.