Ambassador Laurent Delahousse, Head of Delegation of the European Union to Liberia, has struck three critical points as the nation moves closer to the 2023 general and presidential elections.
Speaking at the Inter-Party Consultative Committee (IPCC) Forum, held at the National Elections Commission (NEC) headquarters on April 26, 2023, Ambassador Delahousse said, “I want to make a statement, not in the name of the international community because I don’t have a mandate for that, but that speaks to the feeling of the international community. There are three points:
“The first point is that the international community supports the electoral process in Liberia. We support it politically and financially. We are great friends and admirers of the Liberian democracy, as you know.
“Second point, some of us in the international community will send, if we are invited by the Government of Liberia (GOL) and by the elections commission, observers for the election. There is at present, for instance, an exploratory mission from the European Union to prepare a possible European Union observation mission. It has met with media, political parties, the [National] Elections Commission (NEC) and all stakeholders, but there is no public communication at this stage.
“Third point, we support fully the National Elections Commission (NEC) to organize the election. We have full trust in the National Elections Commission (NEC). We call on political parties and the National Elections Commission (NEC) to be very clear on the implementation of the election regulations. The campaign regulations are very important because, for the functioning of the Liberian democracy, it is essential that there is a level playing field. It is essential that all players follow the same rules, that there are no players who start campaigning before the others. There are objective differences between the means and resources available to political parties, but the rules must be the same and the rules must be strictly enforced by the National Elections Commission (NEC) and strictly respected by the political parties.
“Let me just add one word, which has nothing to do with campaigning. We have observed also the voter registration process and we have witnessed during this registration process the practice of trucking. This practice is illegal, it is against the regulations. It is against the basic principles of representative democracy. I just wanted to mention that issue because it has been witnessed by many of our observers in the country.”