Pierre Claver Ndayicariye, Chairman of the National Independent Electoral Commission-CENI says the deadline for the registration of voters is still maintained. “All registration centers throughout the country will be closed at 5:30 pm this 17 February. Except people in queues, registration agents will not be allowed to receive any person,” says Ndayicariye.
Numbers of registered people per province
The CENI chairman says the number of people already registered is encouraging and satisfying. 4,105,481 i.e. 92, 2% including 2,110,245 women and 1,995,236 men have already registered in eight days out of 4,452,679 expected voters.
Some people are still waiting to get identity cards to register. In Nyakabiga neighborhood in the capital Bujumbura, a large number of people was still lining up in queues this 16 February. “I have been looking for an ID since the past two weeks in vain. The administrative officials said there is a shortage of sheets,” says one of Nyakabiga residents.
He also says some of them are students and employees. “I have just spent four days at this office and am afraid my employer may fire me. The time for registration is not enough,” he says.
The ID applicants appeal to the National Independent Electoral Commission to extend the registration period to allow them to participate in the Constitutional referendum and 2020 elections. The CENI chairman, however, says the deadline will not be extended. “It is not on the eve of the registration deadline that applicants look for IDs”, he says.
The ongoing registration of voters was organized for both the Constitutional referendum scheduled for May 2018 and 2020 elections.
IWACU Open Data
