Eligible voters urged to inspect register |21 January 2016

The around 2000 eligible voters who made applications last year to have their details amended are being urged to come and inspect the register from January 25to February 5, 2016.

Verification should be done in registration centres on week days except public holidays from 9am to 3pm which includes lunch hour at the registration centres on Mahé, Praslin and La Digue (Inner Islands).

Citizens are requested to inspect and verify the registers as per their applications made from January to December 31, 2015 to be on the register of voters, any claims or objections, applications to transfer from one electoral area to another, and applications for changes in demographic information on the register of voters.

The office of the electoral commission is also inviting all citizens of Seychelles who qualify to be on the register of voters, all persons who are 18 years old, all persons who are no longer serving a prison sentence, and all Seychellois citizens living overseas now returned and who are residents in an electoral area for more than three months to apply for registration in the registration centres.

The registration centres are as follows: the Electoral Commission's Office at the National Library, Beau Vallon district administration office, Anse Aux Pins district administration office, Anse Royale district administration office, Anse Boileau district administration office, Baie St Anne district administration office and La Digue district administration office.

A valid national identification card (ID) is needed to register or check your name on the voter’s register.

Those who have made changes to their names or addresses are advised to bring documents such as a certificate of birth, marriage or divorce as proof.

Returning residents need their ID and passport as proof that they have been living in Seychelles for over three months.

The chief registration officer, Lorna Lepathy, said around 2000 eligible voters made applications to make amendments last year.

“Those who made transactions received a yellow page which is a copy of the application, it is not a confirmation of the changes. The application process takes up to six or seven weeks before being confirmed by a confirmation letter,” she said.

There is a total of 500 citizens who have not collected their confirmation letters from last year and they are being asked to collect them in their respective electoral area as it is an important document during the elections.

Since the register re-opened on December 28 around 253 citizens have made applications.

After the constitutional law changed in May 2015 over 1200 citizens turning 18 years old were removed from the register.

She is urging the 18-year-olds to come and register themselves as early as possible because since the process of registration re-opened last month 800 eligible voters that have turned 18 had not registered and up to date only 66 have made applications to register themselves.

“Please do not wait when an election is announced to do so because you will not be entered on the register of voters,” she added.

On that note she pointed out that in the near future a new voters’ education programme will be launched for the 18-year-old eligible voters including those turning of age and also citizens on remand.

The next certification of the voters’ register will be on March 31, 2016. A certified register cannot be amended until the register is revised or certified again.