THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY, Liberia’s principal partners in the nurture and development of its democracy, have thrown their weight behind the October 10, 2023 general and presidential elections, disclosing their support for the initiative. This was disclosed by the Head of Delegation of the European Union to Liberia, Ambassador Laurent Delahousse, on April 26, 2023 at the Inter-Party Consultative Committee (IPCC) Forum, held at the National Elections Commission (NEC) headquarters.
HEAD OF EUROPEAN Delegation Delahousse disclosed the international community’s support in three segments. The first, he said, 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,” he stated.
THE SECOND, HE enumerated, is that some international partners will send observers to monitor the election if they are invited by the government and by the National Elections Commission (NEC). “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,” Ambassador Laurent Delahousse explained.
THE THIRD SEGMENT, he underscored, is that the international community “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.
THE EUROPEAN UNION Ambassador has provided the basis for some of the assistance the NEC needs up to October 10, 2023 to be provided, considering the numerous challenges the electoral process faces. Ambassador Delahousse addressed himself to one of these challenges. “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.” The Head of European Delegation says the international partners stand with the NEC through challenges like these.