Monrovia – The National Elections Commission (NEC) has announced the postponement of the date for candidate nomination for the pending senatorial by-elections to be held in Montserrado and Bong Counties.
Report By Henry Karmo, [email protected]
The void necessitating the by-election was created by the election of President Goerge Weah who served as Senator of Montserrado County and Vice President Jewel Howard Taylor who also served as Senator of Bong County.
According to NEC chairman Jerome Korkoya, the NEC the decision is based on the lack of funding for the by-elections.
President George Manneh Weah in his first Annual Message to the Legislature stemmed that he inherited a “broke country and a broken economy.
Nomination for contestants was set to begin on Thursday, March 15, 2018. However, the process remains on hold until the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning gives the green light based on availability of funding, Cllr. Korkoya said.
In a recent press conference, Cllr. Korkoya told the media the NEC might not conduct the by-elections as scheduled due to the inability of the government to make available the necessary funding.
Bong and Montserrado Counties constitutes 45 percent of the total number of registered voters in Liberia.
“The funding for these by-elections has still not been agreed. The government, by and through the Ministry of Finance, has still not responded to the budget the Commission submitted which leaves us in a position of uncertainty,” Korkoya said.
The NEC chairman during the media conference also warned that it is essential that before proceeding further with preparation for the by-elections, a budget is allocated to provide legal and operational certainty for the Commission.
“These are significant by-elections as I have stressed prior and there are sizeable procurement processes to be completed including ballot papers that must follow the procurement rules of the PPCC, especially those on international tendering and procurement.
The Election boss stressed that the electoral timetable is extremely tight and must meet with the constitutional timeline.
The Constitution requires that by-elections for a vacant seat for the House or the Senate be held no later than 30 days after the National Elections Commission has been notified of the vacancy.
It remains unclear what the course of the legislature would be as the postponement breaches provisions of the sacred Constitution.