Monrovia, Liberia – Th National Election Commision has inform the general public that the voter registration exercise in Phase One counties of Bomi, Gbarpolu, Grand Bassa, Grand Cape Mount, Margibi and Montsurrado was successfully concluded on 9 April 2023 as planned.
The NEC announced that the return of BVR materials and equipment to NEC Headquarters was finished on April 11, 2023. The equipment was being serviced and rearranged for redeployment in the Phase Two counties of Bong, Grand Gedeh, Grand Kru, Lofa, Maryland, Nimba, River Gee, River Cess, and Sinoe as it was being received in the NEC Headquarters Warehouse.
The NEC however expressed having challenges with the new technology while using it but was settled soon. The election office noted that the Commission held a one-day internal lessons learned workshop on April 13 in order to understand the difficulties that were encountered in Phase One, such as improper connection and powering of the equipment, ownership of BVR centers, timing of meal allowance payment, logistics, etc. They quickly expressed that the NEC is making improvements to the second phase after determining the underlying reasons of the problems.
According to NEC, the deployment of BVR kits to the Phase Two Counties began on Sunday, April 16. As of 01:00 on Monday, April 17, all BVR Kits and materials had left NEC Headquarters Warehouse for their respective locations in central, north, and southeastern Liberia.
The NEC added that Voter registration records from the six counties in Phase One are currently being deduplicated and adjudicated at the Data Center. This operation aims to eliminate all occurrences of duplicate registration and other data cleansing activities. The Commission has welcomed all observers and participants, including political party technicians who have received the proper NEC accreditation to monitor the deduplication and adjudication process.
A total of 1,435,209 (one million four hundred thirty-five thousand two hundred and nine) registrations are shown in the preliminary findings from Phase One. 711,410 (seven hundred eleven thousand four hundred and ten) of these people are female, while 723,799 (seven hundred twenty-three thousand seven hundred ninety-nine) are male. Due to the ongoing deduplication and adjudication process, this number could fluctuate. The Phase One registration breakdown by county is as follows;
| County | Registered |
| Bomi | 64,395 |
| Gbarpolu | 50,887 |
| Grand Bassa | 157,712 |
| Grand Cape Mount | 86,589 |
| Margibi | 184,425 |
| Montserrado | 891,201 |
| TOTAL | 1,435,209 |
The Civic and Voter Education (CVE) campaign for Phase Two of the BVR exercise was introduced by the NEC on Saturday, April 15. There were concurrent sub launches at the 12 local magistrate offices in the nine Phase Two counties, while the main launch took place in Ganta City, Nimba County. Participants in the CVE launch across the nation were members of the Board of Commissioners, senior staff members including election magistrates, local government representatives, civil society, women, youths, and people with disabilities.
The Commission requests that all eligible Liberians in Phase Two be prepared to register in the nine counties of Bong, Grand Gedeh, Grand Kru, Lofa, Maryland, Nimba, River Gee, River Cess, and Sinoe. The NEC also promotes the use of the online Personal Data Entry application as an optional method of entering prospective registrants’ data. This will facilitate the completion of their registration at the registration facilities where their thumbprints will be taken, pictures taken, and ID cards issued.
The Commission also cautions Liberians 18 and older against making multiple registration attempts. Multiple registration is illegal, and anyone discovered doing it will be turned over to the Justice Ministry for prosecution under the BVR system. Additionally, the BVR system will automatically deactivate such numerous registrants. In other words, you might not be able to vote in the general elections scheduled for October 10, 2023.
Speaking at a news conference, NEC Chairperson noted that, In the Elections Budget for the Year 2022, the GOL authorized and approved the sum of US$20,000,000.00 (Twenty Million Dollars) for the NEC as money for the General Elections of 2023. The GOL authorized and approved US$33,000,000.00 (thirty-three million dollars) for the NEC in the budget year for 2023, bringing the combined budget for the two budget years to US$53,000,000.00 (fifty-three million dollars).
The MFDP has so far disbursed $27,500,000.00 (twenty-seven million five hundred thousand dollars) of the $53,000,000.00 available, according to NEC, leaving a balance of $25,500,000.00 (twenty-five million five hundred thousand).
The Commission also informed Phase One’s temporary employees that, in accordance with the contract, their honoraria will start to be paid starting April 17, 2023.
