Monrovia – The Revised Strategic Plan of the National Elections Commission (NEC) was on Thursday, July 21, 2016 launched in Monrovia.
The plan was launched by the Co-Chairperson of the Commission, Cllr. Sarah Jegede Toe who described the document as a milestone achievement in the 2012-2018 electoral cycles.
Cllr. Toe said the Revised Strategic Plan has helped the Commission to clarify the sets of goals and strategies that reflect the changing external and internal environments in which the Commission operates, noting that the last few years have brought many changes to the way in which elections are conducted in Liberia.
She said for the next several years, the pace of change will be more intense as a result of rapid advances in technology, legislative change and evolving expectations on the part of our citizens and other stakeholders.
The NEC Co-Chairperson said the Commission, guided by its Strategic Plan for the period 2012-18, has so far successfully met most of the challenges of the electoral cycles, with the conduct of the 2014 Special Senatorial Election and the reform of the election laws which were the focuses of the first part of the Strategic Plan.
She however noted that having now reached more than half way through its implementation, the scope of the Strategic Plan needed to be reappraised to ensure that it remains relevant to the evolving needs of the Commission and its stakeholders.
The NEC Co-Chairperson noted that in the last months, the NEC, in collaboration with its partners, has conducted a series of consultations and held internal discussions to reassess the purpose of the Commission, analyze the external environment in which it operates and determine the current challenges and opportunities.
“The result of these multiple efforts is our Revised Strategic Plan. It builds upon the work we have undertaken over the past four years to envision our strategic direction for the period 2012-18 and upon the achievements we have realized in implementing the first part of this Plan.
This document also reflects a consensus on the realignment of the major areas where we believe the NEC must focus its attention and build on the significant progress already made in meeting the goals for improved services and innovation,” she noted.
Cllr. Toe noted that through the revision of its Strategic Plan, the Commission has harmonized the key objectives and related broad strategies that the NEC would pursue over the period 2016-18 and how such progress can be measured.
The Revised Strategic Plan represents the strategic direction that the Commission will pursue over the next two years (July 2016 – June 2018) “Under five pillars, the Plan seeks to achieve the following strategic goals and related strategic actions and activities which have been detailed in the Commission’s operational plan”, she noted.