Liberia: Presidential Aspirant Franklin Siakor Accuses NEC of Unilaterally Changing Elections Guidelines

MONROVIA – Independent Presidential aspirant Franklin Obed Siakor has accused the National Elections Commission (NEC) of refusing to accept his letter of intent and notarized petition lists as part of requirements outlined by the NEC in its election’s regulations and guidelines relating to political parties and independent candidates.

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By: Gerald C. Koinyeneh – [email protected]

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By submitting his letter of intent and notarized petition lists containing the names of those who want him to contest drawn from seven of Liberia’s 15 counties on March 31, Mr. Siakor thought he was doing the right thing in line with the guidelines.

The provision calls on any citizen desirous to contest as independent candidate to submit a letter of intent and a notarized petition lists to the NEC at least six months to the general election in which the aspirant intends to contest.

But to his surprise, Mr. Siakor said the NEC refused to accept his letter of intent and the accompanying document. He was told that the rules have changed, and the new rule states that all independent candidates should wait until the completion of the biometric Voter registration exercise (BVR).

“We consider this, changing of the rules after the game has started without informing the players that the rules have changed, is unfair, illegal, not transparent, and having the potential to spark violence during and after the electoral process.  NEC has no right to change the rules and to apply the rules selectively,” Siakor said in a statement issued recently.

Siakor once served as vice-presidential candidate on the Liberty Party’s ticket in 2011 and a Junior Senator of Bong County from 2006 to 2011.

He explained that prior to his denial, a member of his team visited the Election Magistrate Office in Gbarnga to get clarity about the notarized petition list.

But the Election Magistrate in Bong County referred them to the Political Affairs Officer at the NEC head office in Monrovia. At the NEC headquarters, Siakor said the political officer provided clarifications that helped them in the process until the very end.

However, on the day he and his team were packaging their documents for submission to NEC, they sought clarification about the publication of photos in the newspaper. It was at this time they were told by the political officer that it was not yet time for independent candidates to submit their letter of intent and supporting documents.

The former Bong County Senator “We told him that we were going ahead with the submission because that is what the guideline says and he should have informed us in the beginning if there was any change in the guidelines we downloaded from NEC website,” he explained.

“When we submitted the documents to NEC, the deputy political affairs officer told us the notarized lists we submitted might not be used because a decision has been made that only the biometric voter cards will be used during the 2023 electoral process. But other independent candidates and political parties have used the same voter cards we used to get certificate from NEC,” he added.

When contacted, the NEC communications director said he could not speak on the matter until he spoke with the political officer.  

Siakor said the NEC decision to use only the biometric voter cards is arbitrary and unacceptable; adding “it cannot be allowed to stand because it lacks the requisite legal and regulatory authority necessary for Rule Making. To be credible, the NEC has to be fair, transparent, and above board, my experience gives me no such confidence.”