It’s Official: Liberia’s Elections Commission Postpones By-elections Due to Technical and Operational Reasons

Monrovia – The National Elections Commission (NEC) informs the public that the Montserrado senatorial and district 15 Representative by-elections, which were scheduled for July 8, 2019 have been postponed to a later date, to be announced.

FrontPageAfrica, citing sources, reported Wednesday that NEC was planning to make the postponement official this week.
says, pre-packed kits have not arrived into the country and have made the by-elections impossible to be conducted as was scheduled.

Meanwhile, the Commission informs the public that the full consignment of one Million forty-six thousand, one hundred (1,046,100) ballot papers are currently in the country. The ballot papers, including tactile ballot guides, forms, and record of the counts, arrived over the weekend at the RIA and were received by authorities of the Commission, along with the Liberia National Police, and taken to a secure location under LNP maximum protection.

Of the total ballot papers, nine hundred and ninety-three thousand, eight hundred and fifty (993,850) will be used for the senatorial by-election, while fifty-two thousand, two hundred and fifty (52,250) will be used for the representative by-election.

The commission also informs the public that the training of poll workers is currently ongoing at various locations in Montserrado County.

In spite of the postponement, NEC assures the public that it remains committed to conducting free, fair, transparent, and credible by-elections. The Commission says the postponement is strictly on the basis of technical and operational reasons. The NEC also emphasizes that the postponement is motivated by professional considerations.