Voters Registration : Togolese sentenced to one year in Prison for fraud

In Togo, the National Independent Electoral Commission (CENI) announced on Monday, August 21st, the disqualification of Togolese citizen Esso-hana Ware and his conviction by the judiciary for multiple registrations on the recently updated electoral lists.

In a press release, CENI reported the case of Togolese citizen Esso-hana Ware, who was brought to court for being registered multiple times on the electoral lists, in violation of the Togolese electoral code.

Esso-hana Ware reportedly appeared before the 3rd Criminal Chamber of the High Court of Lomé on Friday, August 18th, 2023. He faced accusations from the Public Ministry and CENI regarding his multiple registrations on the electoral lists during the electoral census that took place from April 29th to June 14th, 2023, across the country.

Following the census, CENI meticulously verified biographical and biometric data to detect potential cases of multiple registrations in accordance with Article 61 of the electoral code. This operation revealed ninety-one thousand (91,000) potential cases of duplicates. Among them, the case of Esso-hana Ware caught CENI’s attention as he had registered thirteen times using clearly falsified names.

After the proceedings, he was found guilty and sentenced to a firm imprisonment term of twelve (12) months, along with a fine of three thousand (300,000) CFA francs, approximately $500 US dollars. Additionally, he will be automatically removed from the electoral lists for a period of three (03) years.

As a reminder, opposition political parties contested the credibility and integrity of this voter registration operation, citing the involvement of minors, multiple registrations, and particularly the lack of equipment which led many eligible individuals in the southern part of the country to remain without voter cards.