Bujumbura, Burundi (PANA) – Civil society organizations in Burundi have called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to urgently take corrective measures on anomalies in the ongoing registration of voters ahead of the 2015 general elections in the country.
A statement issued Thursday by the civil society coalition for election monitoring warned that unless action was taken early, the data being recorded on the electoral roll could be permanently biased.
Reports from the coalition’s observers, now scattered throughout the country, indicated there were “numerous irregularities that may deeply mar the process and inevitably bias the electoral roll,” said the statement, pointing out misuse of the national identity card which is required for voter registration.
For instance, civil society observers claimed they found people using identity cards “with no owner’s fingerprint, no seal of the town of residence, no passport photograph or photographs that could be visible with a naked eye.”
The observers also noted that national ID cards were being distributed “irregularly” at the registration centres by school principals, administrative officials and members of the ruling party in Burundi.
“This is a serious evidence of voter fraud, deftly planned and implemented with the help of the local administration,” said civil society organizations’s statement, which also expressed concern about the “low turnout” eligible voters who “have already registered.”
The coalition’s statement was endorsed by, among other bodies, the Burundian Human Rights League (Iteka) and the Association for the Protection and Defence of Human Rights and Prisoners.
While condemning the “tendency by the INEC and the Interior Ministry to downplay these irregularities”, the statement urged “reluctant or unmotivated citizens to massively register” so that they do not miss the opportunity to elect their representatives at local and national level.”
The voter registration exercise started 24 November and it is due to close on 7 December 2014, but analysts say apathy keeps many Burundian citizens away from participation in the electoral process.
Meanwhile, INEC and the Interior Ministry have already acknowledged “some irregularities” including the issuance of national identity cards outside town halls and promised to correct these shortcomings that are likely to spoil the voter registration process.
