Increase number shown but omission and objection has last say
By Alfred Sasako
THE Solomon Islands Electoral Commission (SIEC) has revised upward the final tally for last month’s voter registration, which shows 148, 171 people registered to vote.
“As of Saturday last, we have now settled on the following number of voter registrants when registration ended on Sunday, 30 September, SIEC Chief Executive Officer, Mose Saitala said.
According to the revised figures, New Registrants stand at 94,948 – an increase of 12, 016 while voter transfer show an increase of 8, 149 to 53,223. The total Registrants stand at 148,171.
Overall, this is an increase of more than 20, 000 names over the initial figure of 128, 006, which SIEC released last week.
The revised figures also showed an increase of 8, 149 names in voter transfers. First time voters, on the other hand, jumped by 12, 016 names.
Releasing the preliminary figures last week, Mr Saitala said the SIEC expected the number to go down during the objection and omission period. Island Sun asked Mr Saitala if there were a certain percentage at which he expected the decrease.
“I cannot really put my hand on a certain percentage figure. This is unchartered territory for the Electoral Commission,” Mr Saitala said in an email.
“Never before have we had this high number of transfers in our history. So, I really have no basis to make any prediction. The best we can do is to manage the process of developing the Provisional List of Electors so we don’t overshoot the timeline for the completion of this task. We are on overdrive now to make sure we process these 148,171 registrants,” he said.
