Monrovia – The Liberian National Bar Association (LNBA), in collaboration with the National Elections Commission (NEC) through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Electoral Support Project, concluded an engagement dialogue seeking commitment to post-election democracy and peace consolidation.
By: Victoria G. Wesseh
The stakeholder engagement dialogue, held over the weekend at the LNBA office, was attended by Civil Society Organizations, security actors, religious leaders, the media community, as well as members of the public and other stakeholders.
The engagement dialogue brought to a close the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Electoral Support Project (LNBACNP), launched on September 19, 2023, which aimed at strengthening the legal capacity of Liberian lawyers and providing civic engagement for stakeholders across the fifteen counties of Liberia.
The project came about through a Memorandum of Understanding among stakeholders, including the LNBA and the NEC, to execute a grant of US$150,000. The initiative is a collaboration between LNBA and NEC.
The objective of the project is to initiate collaboration with the NEC and stakeholders to ensure the successful conduct of the 2023 Presidential and Legislative elections, support the NEC in its effectiveness in handling election cases, and increase public knowledge, particularly among lawyers, aspirants, political parties, and leaders, of the legal electoral process to reduce court dockets.
Lastly, the project also seeks to allow election stakeholders to fully understand the distinction between courtroom litigation processes and administrative hearings conducted before the NEC.
In his introductory remarks, LNBA President Cllr. Sylvester D. Rennie commended the participants for honoring the invitation for the closure of the project, stating that the consolidation of Liberia’s peace and democracy rests on the collective efforts of everyone.
“Today marks the closure of a program that was born in September. The concept was developed by the LNBA to ensure there is a partnership with the NEC concerning the Electoral program. Now, we have come together to brainstorm on the consolidation of Liberia’s peace and democracy. On that basis, we have called you here for us to brainstorm.”
According to him, based upon some missteps they observed along the way on the part of lawyers and the NEC, they decided to intervene to build the capacity of lawyers, civil society organizations, media, and stakeholders to ensure peaceful elections and understanding of legal electoral processes.
Cllr. Rennie noted that not understanding the laws sometimes created problems in the past; therefore, the LNBA sees the decongestion of electoral complaints carried by political parties and lawyers as a major concern to be addressed with urgency.
“Also, during the program, the security sector was informed about their roles and responsibilities because people are becoming partisan even in security roles. In the first phase of the program, we visited Montserrado, Nimba, Grand Bassa, Bomi, Grand Gedeh, and the last phase concluded in the rest of the counties. We also provided civic education during the runoff election,” he concluded.
For her part, the National Secretary General of Civil Society and Human Rights Advocacy, Adama K. Dempster, stated that they are in partnership with LNBA regarding the post-election period, and they equally want to share their thoughts on the participation of the entire election process.
She also added that Civil Society Organizations, in line with LNBA’s engagement with the Human Rights Communities, are glad to be involved in the election process. Furthermore, they are following up and having discussions on how to engage the newly elected government regarding the wide range of promises made during the campaign period and holding the government accountable to those promises.