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standing the clear language of Section 3.6 of the Elections law and Article 22 of the
NEC Regulations, the only obligation under the publication requirement is that the
NEC puts the FRR document on its website and distribute same on flash-drives to
certain specifically designated political; and that with this action the NEC is deemed
to have satisfied the publication requirement since section 3.6 of the New Elections
Law provides that, "a copy of each FRR may be kept at such other places as the
Commission may designate." The appellee and its Board of Commissioners are also
of the view that unlike the Provisional Roll which must be presented to all
magistrates for possible challenges, the FRR on the other hand is developed only
after the editing and finalization of the Provisional Registration Roll (PRR).
The appellants, for their part, advances the counter-argument that the
publication requirement is only satisfied upon the availability of the FRR to all
Magistrates/polling centers across the country since the New Elections Law and the
Regulations mandate so. We view the argument of the NEC as not only flimsy but
an attempt to cover-up what was an obvious failure to comply with the clear
wording of the law, and thereby creating the prospect for election mal-handling.
We do not believe that this was the intent of the framers of the Elections Law.
What, we are inclined to enquire, was the utility of the Commission promulgating
the Article 22 Regulations if it had no intention of complying with those very
Regulations. Was it to impress the public or others that it was serious in ensuring
that elections are free, fair and transparent when it had no intention of actual
compliance that would make such elections free, fair and transparent?
Article 22 is in no way ambiguous. It clearly sets out that "the NEC shall certify
the Final Registration Roll and print one copy for each polling place and that the
certified Final Registration Roll shall be made available at the office of the
Magistrate of Elections for viewing during ordinary business hours." We interpret
the provision as setting a two-fold mandatory and compulsory standard which the
NEC must comply with. Firstly, that the NEC must have a copy printed of the FRR
for each polling place, meaning that such printed copy must be displayed at each
of such polling places. Secondly, the NEC must also ensure that a certified copy is
made available to the office of each Magistrate of Elections. The provisions, we
note are not only logical but they are also reasonable; and for an institution such
as the NEC, the multiple roles assigned to it in the electoral process, from regulating