A total of 128,848 voters have been registered to vote in Samoa’s General Elections in April.
The final roll was confirmed by the Office of the Electoral Commission to Savali Newspaper.
The 128,848 is the official number following the removal of 3673, which was the total number of deceased voters.
With the rolls finalized, the Electoral Commissioner Faimalomatumua Mathew Lemisio said the OEC has been proactive in following the remaining steps required to prepare for April.
The preparations include a training of volunteers to serve under the OEC during the Elections.
“Final number of volunteers is still yet to be finalized depending on availability of people. In the meantime, our Office have trained more than a 1000 volunteers,” he said.
The 1000 plus volunteers are mostly government employees with the help of a few other individuals who have had valuable experience in ballot day practices.
Meanwhile, the Office of the Electoral Commission has set a three-day pre-polling window prior to the official Election Day on 9 April.
“Pre-polling starts from Monday 5th April 2021 to Thursday 8th April 2021. General Election Polling day is Friday 9th April 2021,” said Faimalomatumua.
Election Officials who work for the OEC during Election Day are also eligible to vote during the pre-polling stages.
The first three days of pre-polling would be a cushion for early voters and would provide a window for election officials to vote prior to the official voting day.
Photo file RNZ Pacific Caption: Voting in Samoa in 2016