NIGER: With four days to go until presidential elections, most Malian refugees in Niger camps are still waiting for their electoral cards as preparations for the poll seem far behind schedule
Record ID:
236158
NIGER: With four days to go until presidential elections, most Malian refugees in Niger camps are still waiting for their electoral cards as preparations for the poll seem far behind schedule
- Title: NIGER: With four days to go until presidential elections, most Malian refugees in Niger camps are still waiting for their electoral cards as preparations for the poll seem far behind schedule
- Date: 24th July 2013
- Summary: MANGEZI REFUGEE CAMP (70 KM FROM MALIAN BORDER), NIGER (JULY 23, 2013) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF REFUGEE CAMP VARIOUS OF MALIAN REFUGEES IN FRONT OF THEIR TENTS VARIOUS OF MALIAN REFUGEES DISCUSSING THE UPCOMING ELECTIONS VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE MALIAN REFUGEES COMMITTEE, AMINATA WALET, FROM MENAKA, COMING OUT OF HER TENT (SOUNDBITE) (French) VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE MALIAN REFUGEES COMMITTEE, AMINATA WALET, SAYING: "Up until now we haven't had our electoral cards to go and vote, but we're waiting and getting ready." VARIOUS OF CHILDREN PLAYING FOOTBALL, WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN FRONT OF THEIR TENTS REFUGEE FROM MENAKA TALHATOU HALLAHI SHOWING HIS ELECTORAL CARD WITH HIS FRIEND IBRAHIM DJIBRILLA (SOUNDBITE) (Zarma) REFUGEE FROM MENAKA, TALHATOU HALLAHI, SAYING: "They tell us that the elections are taking place in four days and the electoral materials have not yet gotten here, even our electoral cards have not arrived. As for me, four days ago I went to Menaka myself to look for my electoral card. Nobody from the electoral commission has come to see us here yet." HALLAHI'S ELECTORAL CARD (SOUNDBITE) (Zarma) REFUGEE FROM MENAKA, TALHATOU HALLAHI, SAYING: "This vote stirs up a lot of hope for us. We tell ourselves that we will finally go back home, but if we can't even vote that really worries me a lot." VARIOUS OF REFUGEES IN MEETING ABOUT SECURITY DURING THE ELECTIONS UNHCR FIELD ADMINISTRATOR, GEORGES DAGBELOU COMLAN, TALKING TO ANOTHER UNHCR AGENT MALIAN REFUGEE AGALI AG ABOUBA HOLDING UP ELECTORAL CARD ELECTORAL CARD (SOUNDBITE) (French) MALIAN REFUGEE AGALI AG ABOUBA SAYING: "We are brothers. All this noise being made about it has to stop. And for that we need a credible president." COMLAN WITH ANOTHER UNHCR AGENT (SOUNDBITE) (French) GEORGES DAGBELOU COMLAN, UNHCR FIELD ADMINISTRATOR, SAYING: "In terms of this electoral process here in the Mangezi camp, we have recorded around 844 potential voters, just in the Mangezi camp." UNHCR BADGE (SOUNDBITE) (French) GEORGES DAGBELOU COMLAN, UNHCR FIELD ADMINISTRATOR, SAYING: "From my point of view it's not completely worrying because the electoral process takes time, and I think that Malian authorities, and particularly the authorities at the Malian embassy here are on the case so that refugees can have access to their documents, which will allow them to vote on July 28." VARIOUS OF REFUGEES UNDER THE MAIN UNHCR HANGAR IN THE CAMP VARIOUS OF FEMALE REFUGEES TAKING WATER, WALKING IN CAMP
- Embargoed: 8th August 2013 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Niger
- Country: Niger
- Topics: Conflict,International Relations,Politics,People
- Reuters ID: LVA3LQR7DATEFSV9F321PV53IGUN
- Story Text: At the Mangezi refugee camp in Niger less than 100 km from the Malian border, refugees were hopeful on Tuesday (July 23) that an upcoming presidential poll in Mali might soon offer them the chance to return back home.
But with only four days to go, many refugees say they are still waiting to see any electoral materials, and to find out where will they vote.
Aminata Walet, a 55-year-old refugee from Menaka, just over the border in Mali, worries very few people will actually be able to vote.
"Up until now we haven't had our electoral cards to go and vote, but we wait and see and we get ready," said Aminata Walet, who represents the refugees in the camp committee.
Talhatou Tallahi, one of her neighbours from the village who made the journey all the way to Mali specifically to ensure he will be able to vote, says electoral preparations in the camp are seriously behind.
"They tell us that the elections are taking place in four days and the electoral materials have not yet got here, even our electoral cards have not arrived. As for me, four days ago I went to Menaka myself to look for my electoral card. Nobody from the electoral commission has come to see us here yet," Tallahi said.
Niger hosts around 50,000 refugees, but taken together with Mauritania and Burkina Faso there are some 173,000 people who fled Mali in the wake of the Islamist insurgency.
The Malian government had promised it would ensure voting will take place for refugees sheltering in camps outside the country.
But lack of infrastructure and technical details may mean a large number of Malian refugees outside the country will be denied a voice.
"This vote stirs up a lot of hope for us. We tell ourselves that we will finally go back home, but if we can't even vote that really worries me a lot," Tallahi said.
The UNHCR on Tuesday (July 23) called on Malian authorities to make public voter lists quickly and to speed up the distribution of electoral cards in neighbouring states for out-of country voters.
A UNHCR spokesman in Geneva said the refugee agency was concerned that only a small number of names of refugees interested in voting were found in the registry.
The UNHCR's role in the elections is to facilitate participation and guarantee the voluntary nature of the electoral process in a safe environment.
"In terms of this electoral process here in the Mangezi camp, we have recorded around 844 potential voters, just in the Mangezi camp," UNHCR field administrator Georges Dagbelou Comlan said. The camp holds more than 7,000 people, he added.
The UNHCR says the Malian authorities have said they are considering alternatives to allow refugees to vote in case of further delays.
"I think that Malian authorities, and particularly the authorities at the Malian embassy here are on the case so that refugees can have access to their documents, which will allow them to vote on July 28," Comlan said.
In Burkina Faso, and according to Malian registration teams, 876 out of the 3,504 registered refugees were found in the civil registry; 8,409 out of 11,355 registered refugees in Mauritania, and 932 out 4,161 registered refugees in Niger.
Speaking in Geneva, a UNHCR representative said only around half of the refugees who have volunteered to take part in the election have so far been found in the registry. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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