The Publishers Association of Liberia (PAL) over the weekend held a democratic election at the office of the Press Union of Liberia (PUL) and voted into office new officials to steer its affairs for the tenure of three years.
PAL is made of owners of print media houses in Liberia. Its first President was Stanley Seakor, Publisher of the Analyst Newspaper, who was succeeded by Philipbert S. Brown, Publisher of the Hot Pepper newspaper, but resigned later and Othello Garblah, Publisher of the New Dawn Newspaper ended his term. It current membership is below 22.
Abiding by the by-laws of the organization, which requires that only faithful due payers can contest for a post, PAL’s Election Commissioner, Alphonso Toweh, Publisher of the New Republic, mandated participants to present the copies of their receipt of due payment.
“Those who will contest are those who paid their due up to date,” Toweh said, reminding candidates of their obligation. “Before you come to vote, you should submit your receipt. If you do not have your receipt, you will be denied voting right. That is what the constitution says.”
The positions contested for were president, vice president, secretary general and financial secretary. Garblah and Robert Kpadeh, Publisher of the Parrot Newspaper, applied for the presidency, but Kpadeh withdrew from the race through a written communication addressed to the election commissioner. In the same manner, Helen Nah-Sammie, who applied earlier for the post of Vice President also declined from the race.
During the voting period, PAL’s President emeritus, Publisher Browne, opened the voting process by casting the first vote.
The following personalities won on white ballot: Garblah, President-elect, Sam O. Dean, Publisher of Independent Newspaper, Vice President-elect, James Kiazulu, Publisher of Liberian Express, Secretary general-elect, and Abraham Donzo, Publisher of Public Agenda, Financial Secretary-elect.
Commissioner Toweh announced the results and expressed gratitude for the transparency of the election.
Inducting the officials into office, the Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Publisher of the News Newspaper, Professor Wilson Tarpeh, said, “We’ve come here because this organization has great and significant potential, to congratulate you on your election, and to recommit ourselves to making this institution what it suppose to be. There will be challenges, but we know the ground on which you have stood to bring this organization to this point.”
Representatives of the National Elections Commission (NEC), Liberia Election Observer Network, Hot Pepper Newspaper, InProfile Daily, Independent Inquirer, Press Union of Liberia (PUL), Ministry of Information, Advocate Newspaper, observed the election, and graded it as free, fair and transparent.
In his inaugural addressed, the President-elect, Garblah, lauded everyone for the transparency of the election. “PAL is here to engage transparently, and will be very accountable to our members. After the election today, we will call a meeting to consult our members in jumpstarting the process of obtaining an office that will host our secretariat.”
“What we have raised so far from the election can find us a place to rent, where we will have a fully functional secretariat, where anybody can direct and transact with,” he added.
Speaking, the President of the Press Union of Liberia (PUL), Charles Coffey, made reference to the financial challenges the media has been faced with since the outbreak of the COVID-19 and under the CDC-led administration, and called on the government to do business with media institutions.
“The economy of the media is tough. To lack the resources to pay your reporters is not an easy thing,” he said, sympathizing with the constraints that publishers face with their reporters. “We want to use the public radio to call on the government to do business with the media, increase their business activity with the media people. Government is the biggest advertiser, and the tradition of generating resources no longer holds ground.”
He also commended the publishers for the peacefulness of their election, and cautioned them to always remain mature during electioneering periods.
“We first want to commend the publishers on the level of maturity, discipline and honesty on the charge of duty. Since the election process, we haven’t heard any noise on social media as some auxiliaries usually do to attack one another,” he said, praising them for the level of kindness. “This is a clear indication that you people are mature to maintain the institution well.”