The Unity Party has made its position clear as it relates to the conduct of the just-ended Lofa County by-election, noting that the process was marred by uncountable irregularities and mistakes, which could amount to fraud. According to the (UP), they and their allies are convinced that the current National Elections Commission (NEC) is not representative of the people’s interest and should therefore be scrapped and replaced by a competent and partisan-free NEC to prepare for 2023 general and presidential elections.
In a press statement issued on Tuesday, July 5, 2022, the Unity Party said the deliberate violations during the by-election clearly cast doubts on the validity of the results announced by the NEC, and undermine the sanctity, credibility and integrity of the votes cast in Lofa County on June 28, 2022.
Elaborating on the violations of the NEC during the by-election, the UP said, “On Thursday, June 30, 2022, the National Elections Commission (NEC) announced provisional results from the by-election. During the night hours of the same day, the results were posted on the website of the commission. What was posted shocked many Liberians and international observers. Our very capable Technical Team quickly observed the following discrepancies in the results posted on the NEC’s website:
“Results from some centers, for example, Foya Market Hall in District #1, were doubled, thereby presenting more votes per candidate than the total number of registered voters;
“Results posted from many of the centers had candidates Joseph Kpator Jallah and Mariamu Fofana names appearing at least two times each, and showing that they had gotten different vote totals at the same polling place;
“Candidates who contested in previous elections were also listed as having won votes in these elections even though they did not participate. Some candidates from 2020 were listed, and in one instance a candidate from 2011 was also listed.
“Following an immediate highlighting on social media of the unimaginable results posted by the Elections Commission on its website by our Technical Team and the resulting public outcry by Liberians in and out of Liberia, the National Elections Commission (NEC) quickly shut down its website to the public. Hours later when the website was restored, we saw that different results were posted. The NEC would later inform the public that there were attempts to hack its website.
“In accordance with international electoral practice, a declaration of bulk election results is usually associated with rigged elections. To ensure transparency, election results should be disaggregated to enable the key stakeholders to obtain comprehensive information regarding the process. The bulk result announced by the NEC is a clear indication that there were things going on that were unusual. This is made more evident by the fact that the commission has up to fifteen days to announce the result. That is sufficient to make the announcement in detail as to polling place and number of votes per candidate.
“We continue to observe that the numbers published by the elections commission do not add up and that the totals and the percentages are not making sense. Members of the public have observed that attempt to print from the NEC website results in completely different information being printed. This has led us to believe that the information provided to the public could be different from the actual figures that the NEC has in its possession.
“We are greatly troubled by the NEC statement that there were attempts to hack its website beginning on the 30th of June when as a matter of fact the elections results were announced after this date. Was the hacking successful? Or was there any hacking at all? These are legitimate questions that we asked in light of all the things that have been done in these elections. We submit to you, fellow Liberians, that what was posted by the Commission on its website was the product of NEC itself and these efforts are geared towards changing the results of the election.”
According to the UP, “Unity Party and her allies take these many violations seriously as they have the effect of NEC selecting a Senator of Lofa County. How insulting to Lofa County!!! The people of Lofa County deserve better than an irregular and mistake-prone process presided over by National Elections Commission (NEC). Over and over, we have questioned the credibility and capacity of this NEC to conduct free and fair elections in Liberia. Their open display of partisanship is also a troubling matter. We do not believe that the Commission as currently constituted can hold credible elections in Liberia in 2023. “In view of the foregoing, the Unity Party and its allies are convinced that the current Elections Commission is not representative of the people’s interest and should therefore be scrapped and replaced by a competent and partisan-free NEC to prepare for 2023 general and presidential elections. Our country has come through so much and cannot continue to trade peace with a disorderly election. We, therefore, ask our partisans, the United Nations, the United States of America, the European Union, the African Union, ECOWAS, and all friends of Liberia to ensure the future of our country in this endeavor. Meanwhile, our legal team will be communicating with the National Election Commission (NEC) to establish our final position on Lofa.”