STAKEHOLDERS TO THE nation’s democratic development are becoming increasingly concerned about the transparency and credibility of 2023’s national elections, barely one year away. One of those stakeholders is the nation’s largest election monitoring body, the Election Coordinating Committee (ECC). The ECC’s concern are, fundamentally, two-fold: the biometric voter registration and the LISGIS census.
THE ECC IS concerned about the NEC’s transition to biometric voter registration amid questions about its capacity with respect to effectiveness, the profile of the vendor and value for money. The election body is equally concerned about the postponed voter registration exercise as enshrined in the commission’s timeline. This, it says, contravenes Article 80 (e) of the Liberian Constitution that provides for the apportionment of constituencies by the NEC in accordance with the new population figures—another prime risk of misplacement of voters.
“IT WAS CLEARLY flagged that the persistent challenge of conducting both census and voter registration combined with inadequate time allotted for the commencement of civic voters education on the transition to biometric voter registration overall serve as a risk to the quality of the electoral process and the integrity of its outcome,” the ECC stated.
COMPOUNDING THE PROBLEM, these issues have come on the heels of lingering questions on the credibility of the proposed census data amid mass controversies which have marred the conduct of the process. The ECC has observed that any outcome of the census data has the tendency of affecting the credibility of the apportionment of new boundaries or electoral districts.
HENCE, THE ELECTIONS Coordinating Committee (ECC) is expressing grave concern about the conduct of free, fair and transparent elections in Liberia amid these daunting challenges facing the National Elections Commission (NEC). The ECC, among other things, is cautioning that the 2023 presidential and legislative elections are faced with prevailing circumstances that could serve as potential roadblock to its credibility and integrity.
CONSEQUENTLY, THE ELECTION body has invited other stakeholders to provide recommendations aimed at mitigating these foreseen risks, which may have the proclivity of undermining democracy and peace. The ECC has organized unique stakeholders’ engagements with political parties, relevant legislative committees, CSOs and development partners to discuss these prevailing implications which threaten to undermine the credibility of the 2023 electoral process and allow them to offer concrete recommendations and actionable points.