AFRICA: Sierra Leoneans took a faltering step towards restoring their blooded democracy yesterday when voter registration started in preparation for elections this May.
Former RUF rebels - whose alleged crimes include murder, mutilation and mass rape - queued alongside their victims as thousands of electoral stations opened across the country.
Amputees streamed out of their camp in Freetown to register their names.
"We have forgiven because of peace," said Mr Gibrill Sesay, whose left hand was chopped off by a soldier. "Revenge will result in another bad step. This is the time to talk politics." There were some complications. Under the law intending voters must dip a thumb in indelible ink. But double amputees used their toes.
No candidates have yet been declared for the election but many said they could never vote for the RUF president, Foday Sankoh, who is currently in jail.
"Even the animals in the bush do not like the RUF. And certainly not the human beings," said double amputee, Mr Ismail Daramy.
Although many Sierra Leoneans are finding it hard to believe, their country appears to be on the path to peace. A demobilisation process that finished last Friday saw 45,000 fighters voluntarily destroy their own guns - a figure that beat even the highest estimates.
The May presidential and parliamentary elections will be supported by UNAMSIL, the world¹s largest peace-keeping mission.
However the first day of voter registration - which lasts another two weeks - was marred by difficulties.
At the City Hotel station in central Freetown, officials said just 21 voters had registered by lunchtime. A higher turnout was reported in suburban areas.
And no voting cards were issued because officials had not been trained to use a digital photography system, according to Mr Pat Sheriff, the National Electoral Commission spokesman. He said the system would be working within a week.
The demobilised RUF has formed a political party, the RUFP. In a sweaty room in central Freetown yesterday, its secretary general, Mr Alimamy Pallo Bangura, instructed his supporters to go out and register their votes.
"One vote can make a difference," he told a crowd of ex-fighters, women and a teenager in school uniform, before leading Christian and Muslim prayers.
Mr Bangura, a former energy minister, was released from jail last August after a 16-month sentence.
The RUFP will garner 90 per cent of the vote in May, he predicted. "We stand for peace, progress, development and democracy," he said.