Monrovia – Liberia for Change, a pro-democracy group, says complaints by the National Elections Commission (NEC) about financial constraints to properly manage the 2017 elections speaks volume of its unpreparedness to conduct the electoral process and as such NEC must halt the process.
Report by Willie N. Tokpah – [email protected]
The group’s Director, John Brownell said financial constraint has led to poor arrangement leading to slowness in the voter’s registration and the non-involvement of the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization which poses threat to the pending elections in Liberia.
“We are underperforming in our country.”
“If we know right now that we don’t have money to finance this election, we have to stop the process right now.
You cannot carry out a process that you do not have money to adequately carry out and then you carry out a fake process,” Brownell said
NEC has cited insufficient finance as a serious problem and the non-involvement of some apparatus of the country’s security force including the BIN.
Brownell told FrontPage Africa Monday that an attempt by the NEC to conduct elections in the midst of financial constraint will be clouded with fraud.
According to him, there is no need for the commission to conduct elections while complaining of limited finance.
He wants Liberia make an appeal to the International Community about its shortfall in completing the electoral process in order to halt the process.
“Let Liberia make an appeal to the International Community that this is where we are. Do not rollout a timetable that you cannot finance. If it is not possible right now, let shut the process down and request for assistance until we can have the money to adequately put our electoral process into place,” Brownell maintained.
Brownell believes the poor conduct of elections activities in Liberia without the participation of the BIN officers will lead to inflows of foreign nationals from Liberia’s neighbors – Guinea, Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast.
This, he noted, might lead to a serious crisis if measures are not taken to track down foreign nationals who might want to participate in the Liberian elections.
“This is the reality that we are faced with right now, would you prefer chaos in your country or peace?
It’s already rumored that trucks load of people are coming into the country with foreigners to come and vote in our country, our voter registration centers are not guided by Immigration officers. Is that the kind of process that we going to be faced with?” Brownell lamented.
Speaking at his Airfield Office in Monrovia, he said the refusal of government to adhere to policies within the national plan has created a serious problem for revenue generation that supposed to address the country’s economic need and critical national issues like the election.
“It is no secret that 92% of our economic assets are in the hands of foreigner. We are against Liberians doing business in their own country as thou a crime is committed being a Liberian citizen,” the activist stressed.
Brownell indicated that only a presidency that will be accessible to Liberians can make the necessary change that will improve the livelihood of ordinary citizens in Liberia. He considered the voters registration as a possible means of embarking on the change Liberians hope to achieve.
The Liberia for Change Executive Director wants the ongoing voter’s registration process in the country to be taken seriously, calling on the NEC to nullify all registration done without the involvement of BIN Officers.
“Any and all voter’s registration that has been carried out without the supervision of the police and Immigration should be immediately nullified and a reset button put in place. “
“Anything that is not done right is not done at all. This fraud start must claim the attention of every well-loving Liberians and get corrected now,” said Brownell in a media dialogue.
Meanwhile, Brownell wants the next Liberian head of state to take a non-partisan approach in putting the interest of Liberian first in the strived for change in the country.
