The High National Elections Commission (HNEC) announced the start of elections for the “First Group” of 60 municipal councils on Sunday, as the voter registration is scheduled to begin over a period of 15 days, starting Sunday as well.
A statement issued by the HNEC explained that these municipalities are distributed across various regions of the country and are among the 106 municipal councils targeted in this elections, indicating that registration in the municipal council elections is a completely new process and is based on residence in the municipality in which the voters will cast their ballots.
Acceptance of registration applications through the voter registration system using text messages (SMS) or the centers of committees accepting registration applications is limited to applications submitted by citizens residing in the targeted municipalities (the first group), according to the HNEC's statement.
After completing this phase, the HNEC is scheduled to begin implementing the stage of distributing cards to new registrants who have not previously obtained a card. It indicated that the electoral cards distributed in 2021 are considered valid and will be used in this election of municipalities to verify the identity of the voter on polling day.
HNEC urged those wishing to run for these elections to be familiar with the conditions for candidacy, and to review the texts of the executive regulations for municipal council elections No. 43 of 2023, especially those related to the condition of recommendation, the fulfillment of which depends on collecting the voter numbers contained in their voter cards; not the national identity numbers as it was previously done.
The implementation of the “Second Group” of municipality elections is scheduled to begin after the announcement of the final results of the “First Group” elections, which is expected in the second half of August 2024, according to the statement, HNEC said, calling on the residents of the municipalities targeted by the electoral process to exercise their right to decide who will bear responsibility for managing the affairs of their municipalities and meeting their demands and needs. It also urged all state institutions and officials to support the HNEC and provide the necessary assistance for the success of these elections.
