Liberia: Senate Want Mid-Term Senatorial Elections Held December 8th

Monrovia – The Plenary of the Liberian Senate has endorsed recommendations from its joint Committee on Judiciary and Autonomous to postpone the October 13, 2020 referendum and senatorial elections to December 8, 2020.

In the committee’s report as expected, the blame for the postponement was linked to the deadly Coronavirus pandemic and the lack of funds. The committee then recommended that the legislature quickly act to allot funding for the conduct of the elections in December.

Said the report: “The Executive should make the funds available so as to ensure that there is no delay or interruption in the conduct of the referendum and election because of no funding. And that the voter roll is clean by the National elections Commission with the involvement of political Parties.”

The committee also recommended that the NEC involve political parties in the process to ensure the credibility and transparency of the election. The committee explained that because of the circumstances leading to the December election the NEC should make quarterly reports to the Legislature every three months leading to the election which could help in resolve issues before the elections. 

In a communication to the Senate, the President George Manneh Wea said, he has been informed by the National Elections Commission about the difficulties in conducting the pending Mid-term election and referendum on the constitutional date which is the second Tuesday of an election year.

According to the President’s communication, the reason for the postponement is because major preparatory activities such as the voter registration update, International Procurement, recruitment and training of thousands of temporary staff that should have been completed in a specific time frame are yet to be carried out due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“For instance, international flights have been grounded, borders have been closed and countries are experiencing lockdown – all activities associated with free, fair and transparent election which have been compounded  by the COVID-19 pandemic, similarly as was the case in the aftermath of the deadly Ebola virus outbreak of 2014.”

Thus, the President said, it may seem obvious that due to the factors outlined, the October 13, 2020 Special Senatorial Elections will not be held. As such the NEC has suggested December 15, 2020 as an ideal date to conduct elections and referendum.

According to the NEC, the new adjusted date will accord them ample time to conclude the remaining preparatory activities and allow the elections to go ahead in December. The extension also leaves room for the declaration of results, potential election protests and resolution prior to senators being seated by January 2021. “In consideration of all the challenges, I request a joint resolution of the legislature by extending the election date from October to December 2020,” the President said.