Zainab Umu Moseray, Commissioner of the Western Region, addressed recent allegations concerning the distribution of the disaggregated voter register during a press briefing held at the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone (ECSL) headquarters.

Moseray said political parties had access to the disaggregated voter register throughout the 2023 election process.

“I want to clarify this allegation on disaggregated data. We displayed the voter register, and it made us realize that some voters’ names did not fall under their registered centers,” Moseray explained.

Awoko reports that the Commissioner Moseray emphasized that on election day, the ECSL ensured all political parties were provided with software to cross-check their records both physically and online. Additionally, voter information was displayed publicly to ensure transparency.

During the press engagement, Moseray highlighted that political stakeholders were consistently invited to engage with the ECSL at various stages of the election process. These invitations allowed stakeholders to observe, examine action plans, and decide on the next steps collaboratively.

“The voter register was equally shared with political parties. The final list of the voter register was with them,” she stated. “So why are they saying we did not publish the disaggregated data list? What is the definition of the publication of disaggregated data?” Moseray questioned in the presence of other ECSL commissioners.

Commissioner Moseray further mentioned that every political party received a soft copy of the voter register, covering areas from Freetown to the most remote villages in the country.

“What we printed was given to each political party’s agent, and the same was available at the ECSL center,” she noted.

During the verification process, people were able to check their names and faces. In an effort to increase transparency, the ECSL also decided to enlarge the font size of the aggregated voter list from 10 to 15.

“It is impossible to say that we disenfranchised anyone,” Moseray asserted. “We can defend this every day and every time. It has never happened, and it will never happen.”