The Electoral Commission chief, Justice Simon Byabakama has trashed claims that Voter Location Slips -VLS is a necessity for one to vote on the 14th January 2021.
He was responding to the bickering in the public that the ongoing exercise is a deliberate strategy by the government to frustrate a section of voters from electing their leaders on polling day.
Byabakama says the slips are only intended to direct voters to which polling station to cast their ballot when the D-day comes.
‘’The purpose of a VLS is to ease, to enable the voter, find his or her polling station easily, it does not mean that if you don’t have that location slip you will not vote, No, what is important for you is to be on the National Voter’s register, but this slip enables you to know, instead of moving around all polling stations on polling day’’ Byabakama explained during a presser at the EC headquarters on Monday.
He also warned the public against picking the wrong Voter Location Slips that don’t belong to them.
The voter location slip bears a voter’s National Identify Card NIN number, voter number, name, colored photo, and date of birth. It also shows the village, district, constituency, Sub County, parish, and the polling station.
Distribution of Slips started on January 3rd and shall go on till 12th January 2021. There is a concern however that the large numbers at the distribution centers could accelerate the spread of COVID-19.
