THE ECONOMIC COMMUNITY of West African States (ECOWAS) has, again, taken the leading role in the peace and security of Liberia. ECOWAS has sent its Technical Team to the National Elections Commission (NEC), headed by Charlotte Osei, to ensure that the December 8, 2020 by-election is held freely, fairly, transparently in the interest of the sustained peace and security of Liberia.
THE MAKE-UP of the voter roll became contentious in the lead up to the December 8 senatorial elections, as some opposition politicians claimed that the NEC had not implemented a mandate by the Supreme Court that it cleans out the list. This necessitated the dispatching of a team of experts from ECOWAS to work with the NEC.
PRESIDENT GEORGE WEAH, receiving the Head of the ECOWAS Technical Team, who was accompanied by ECOWAS Ambassador to Liberia, Babatunde Ajisomo asserted, “We want a free and fair election that will be conducted in peace and tranquility.” President Weah maintained his concern about incendiary language coming from some opposition politicians, which could lead to violence, reiterating that it was the responsibility of all leaders to ensure that the election is held peacefully.
THE SUCCESS OF the ECOWAS Technical Team in regard to the cleaning up of the voter roll was readily made known by the Team. The leader of the ECOWAS Technical Team disclosed that they have made much progress with the full cooperation of the NEC—and with the UNDP’s involvement—in cleaning up the voter roll to be used in the December 8 election.
THE HEAD OF the Team, Osei, expressed the optimism of the December 8 poll, after what appeared like dark clouds as it relates to the cleaning out of the voter roll: “We have had an excellent cooperation of all the stakeholders, including the political parties and the technicians in getting our job done.” Osei told President that at the end of their work it is hoped that all the technical issues raised by the political parties regarding the NEC voter roll would have been resolved. “They have brought in their technicians who have been trained to work along with our [ECOWAS] team to make sure that all parties are satisfied when the process of cleaning up the voters roll is complete,” the ECOWAS Lead Voter Roll Technician asserted.