The National Elections Commission (NEC) on Monday commenced a 4-day legal forum focusing on newly proposed hearing procedures, election cases, and training in the city of Ganta, Nimba County, ahead of the conduct on the November 16, 2021 representative by-elections in Bong, Bomi, Grand Gedeh and Nimba counties.
The Legal Section of NEC is conducting the legal training for nearly 35 participants, including members of the Board of Commissioner (BOC), Ministry of Justice representative, and senior technicians of NEC (including all Elections Magistrates).
NEC, in a release issued Monday, October 18, 2021, said former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Liberia, M. Wilkins Wright, serves as lead facilitator, along with Attys. A. Teage Jalloh and James Wallace, Cllr. Muana S. Vile, Attys. Annie Broderick and Fomba A.M. Swaray.
According to the Legal Section head of NEC, Atty. A. Teage Jalloh, the forum, which seeks to address challenges of the Hearing Procedures of the Commission, will discuss critical topics such as challenges and lessons learned from the 2020 special senatorial elections in Liberia, in anticipation of the 2023 general elections.
A NEC statement quotes Atty. Jalloh as saying that the Legal Forum will also discuss current hearing procedures of NEC, merger and consolidation of elections laws, dissolutions of registered political parties and the finalization of the proposed hearing procedures for submission to the BOC.
Officially declaring the Legal Forum opened, the Chairperson of NEC, Cllr. Davidetta Browne Lansanah, said the forum is a stock-taking one, to know what the Commission has done, what it will do and what changes it can make to better improve the electoral system in Liberia. The NEC boss said the Commission is fully funding the legal forum because it wants to ensure that all of its Magistrates are well trained to carry out speedy and timely adjudication of electoral dispute cases that may arise from the 2023 general elections in Liberia.