Senegal targets 3M ECOWAS biometric ID holders for voter registration

A biometric voter registration exercise that went underway in Senegal on February 1 is expected to see the enrollment of almost three million citizens who hold the national ECOWAS biometric ID card but have no information in the electoral database.

The Director General of Elections in Senegal, Biram Sène, disclosed this fact recently during a press conference to brief the public about the stakes of the ongoing voter registration drive. He said a study carried out prior to the start of the voter registration exercise revealed that 2,900,000 biometric ID card holders were not registered as voters in Senegal.

Senegal has a deal with Iris Corp for the production of national ID and voter cards.

The official said the registration, which will run till July 31, is being conducted by administrative commissions which have been deployed to all the districts of the country, Senegalese daily Sud Quotidien reports.

He disclosed that already, there are about 568 voter registration commissions on the field, and that the National Autonomous Electoral Commission (CENA) plans to take the number to 600 if the need arises.

According to Sène, many of the ECOWAS biometric ID holders in the country are citizens who are eligible to register and vote. He thus urged them to take advantage of the exercise and enroll their names in the national electoral register. Voter registration is an annual exercise in Senegal and citizens who have attained the age of 18 can enroll.

The Director of Elections reminded Senegalese that the national ECOWAS biometric ID card is the only document required as proof of identity for voter registration, and no longer birth certificate extracts as was the case before.

Sène recalled that during the national political dialogue in the country in 2021, delegates recommended that the birth certificate should continue to be used as the proof of ID for voter registration, but administrative authorities decided otherwise.

CENA says the ongoing voter registration exercise will add up new names to the 7.3 million which are currently in the electoral register. Senegal has a population of 18 million.

Meanwhile, apart from potential voters who hold the national ECOWAS biometric ID card, Sène says the ongoing voter registration exercise also concerns those who want to make corrections to their demographic information, transfer requests, requests for a change of status or outright de-listing.

The Director General used the press conference to call on Senegalese of all walks of life to take advantage of the ongoing voter registration drive to enroll their names on the electoral register, and to prepare themselves for upcoming electoral operations in the country. The last elections in Senegal were the legislative polls which took place in November 2024.

Article Topics

Africa  |  biometric enrollment  |  biometrics  |  digital identity  |  elections  |  IRIS Corporation  |  Senegal  |  voter registration