“More than 36,000 out of 100,000 expected people have been registered since the beginning of the ongoing partial voters’ registration process throughout the country,” said Pierre Claver Kazihise, Chairman of the National Independent Electoral Commission (CENI) at a press conference held this 11 December.
Pierre Claver Kazihise: “CENI will deliver other voter cards to those who have lost them”
The process of registering voters and posting lists of voters in the upcoming 2020 elections began on 9 December and is expected to be completed on 12 December. “13,147 were registered on 10 December while 22,915 were registered on 11 December,” said Mr Kazihise, adding that the registration process concerns only Burundian citizens who did not register at the constitutional referendum of May 2018.
“They are namely returnees, people who were outside the country for various reasons, young people who had not yet reached the voting age in 2018, those who were sick,…” adds CENI chairman.
Mr Kazihise says he is satisfied with the number of people who have already registered and calls on CENI agents to be vigilant to prevent people who have been registered in 2018 from registering again.
He indicates that even those who have lost their voter registration cards issued during the Constitutional referendum do no need to be registered.
“CENI will deliver other voter cards to those who have lost them,” reassured Kazihise, while stating that everyone must be registered where they live or where they were born.
He recalls that being registered more than once is a punishable offense, according the electoral code. “Offenders are subjected to a detention ranging between 15 days to 3 months and a fine ranging between BIF 200,000 to BIF400, 000,” Kazihise said, adding that the punishment will be doubled for state servants, administrative authorities and CENI agents.
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