INEC officially allows prisoners, detainees to vote during the General Elections

DODOMA: THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has officially announced that, for the first time, prisoners and detainees will be allowed to vote in the upcoming General Elections in October this year.

The statement was made by the Commission’s Director of Elections, Ramadhani Kailima, while presenting a report on election preparations and political party participation during a national meeting of the Independent National Electoral Commission held in Dodoma.

Kailima stated that prisoners and detainees will vote only for the presidential election, and that there will be no political party agents present in those locations due to security reasons.

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Furthermore, Kailima explained that political parties are required to submit the names of their parliamentary and councilor candidates to the Commission on or before September 28 of this year. For candidates vying for special seats in parliament and local councils, their names must be submitted one month before the general election.

He also clarified that if any candidates withdraw, leaving only one candidate remaining within one to three days before the election, the Commission may decide to postpone the election briefly to allow time to reprint the ballot papers.