Nation-wide BVR update progresses smoothly
September 6, 2018
The National Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) Update exercise has commenced today, September 3rd 2018.
Registration teams have been deployed to all the provincesin the past week and are now carrying out the registration exercise.
The Office of the Solomon Islands Electoral Commission (SIEC) encourages all eligible voters who are yet to register, to register in order to vote in the 2019 National General Election.
It is estimated that across the whole country, some 35,000 young people are now eligible to register as a voter.
SIEC stated that the registration teams have commenced registering voters today and will continue the exercise up to September 27th.
“The teams will spend a number of days in one Voter Registration Centre (VRC) before moving to another; therefore look out for the teams when they visit a VRC closest to you, in order for you to register,” SIEC said in a statement.
SIEC advises Solomon Islanders to check notices that are pinned up by Registration Officers for the movement schedules of the registration teams.
A VRC is also a polling station where you last casted your vote during the 2014 National General Election.
According to reports from the field, there were as many as 7 registration teams across the country who encountered minor technical difficulties with equipments however SIEC’s technical support team is efficiently responding to the issues and all reported problems were rectified, allowing for uninterrupted Voter Registration.
The Office of the Solomon Islands Electoral Commission reiterates that the BVR update aims to capture those who have turned 18 after the 2014 Voter Registration and those who were eligible but did not register in 2014 as well as to remove deceased persons from the list.
“The voter lists also need to be updated to reflect where people are now living; so if you need to update your voter registration details, visit any voter registration centre in your constituency.”
SIEC appeals to all Solomon Islanders to help update and clean up the voters list for next year’s election.
The first phase of the Voter Registration Update started September 3rd and ends September 27th.
SIEC will then compile the provisional voters list and exhibit the list starting October 29th to November 4th for people to check and make corrections.
Voter registration is an essential part of our preparation for the conduct of election. This voter registration process requires that a person who is eligible to vote, to registerhimself/herself on the ‘Register of Electors’ before she/he is permitted to vote.
