Ivory Coast launches new voter registration exercise

Ivory Coast has begun an exercise to enlist new voters for its presidential and legislative elections in October.

On June 10, the Independent Electoral Commission launched the nationwide program to register new voters and also allow for the expunging of those who no longer deserve to be listed.

“I invite all those who have recently become of age to come and enlist. This is very important. These people, when they have reached legal age at 18 years old, the law allows them to participate in electing the nation’s governors. This is their opportunity to get their name on the electoral register, so that they can choose the candidate they want on election day”, Ibrahim Coulibaly-Kuibiert, Chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission said.

Although the Independent Electoral Commission does not set any targets, it estimates that some 5 million eligible Ivorian citizens are not on the list, which currently represents 6.6 million voters.