MONROVIA – The West Africa Democracy Solidarity Network (WADEMOS), a transnational civil society network, has called upon the Liberian Government to promptly disburse the funds owed to the National Elections Commission (NEC) to ensure the successful execution of the upcoming presidential and legislative elections scheduled for October 10.
By Gerald C. Koinyeneh – [email protected]
“The availability of funds remains a tremendous challenge to the functioning of the NEC and to the extent that the activities of the NEC are hindered by money, there is an urgency for the government to release all outstanding funds owed to the NEC to enable smooth performance of its functions,” said WADEMOS’s Network Coordinator Paul Osei Kuffour at a press conference in Monrovia on September 4. Kuffour presented the findings of the group’s pre-election observation mission in Liberia.
Kuffour led a delegation that conducted a pre-election solidarity mission in Liberia from August 28 to September 4, 2023, ahead of the forthcoming elections. Following consultations with national stakeholders, including the NEC, security agencies, and civil society actors, Kuffour and his team expressed concerns about potential adverse consequences for the elections if the NEC remains underfunded.
“The deficit in funding for NEC and its ramifications for the successful conduct of elections, including the NEC’s capacity to embark on civic and voter education to adequately educate citizens in the lead up to the elections is particularly a cause for concern,” he said. “The NEC has a lot to do and it therefore needs adequate funding to properly execute its duties.”
This call from WADEMOS comes shortly after the NEC Chairperson, Davidetta Brown Lansannah, announced an insufficient budget for a possible runoff election in the upcoming Presidential and General elections scheduled for October 10, 2023. The shortfall resulted from the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning providing US$3 million less than the NEC’s required budget, according to her.
During a recent appearance before the Senate on August 29, 2023, Madam Brown-Lansannah, emphasized that a runoff election could only proceed if the Ministry of Finance disburses the remaining $3.2 million. She informed the Senate members that, to date, the Ministry had remitted slightly over $49 million of the $53 million budget approved by the legislature. She also revealed that ballot papers were in the process of being printed and would soon arrive in the country.
These upcoming elections hold significant importance as they mark the fourth consecutive presidential polls since the end of Liberia’s 14-year civil wars. The elections will be the first to be conducted entirely by Liberia’s National Elections Commission and safeguarded solely by the Liberian National Police (LNP), following the withdrawal of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL).
Assessment of NEC’s Preparedness
WADEMOS’ pre-election solidarity mission evaluated the NEC’s preparedness for the October polls. In their findings, the group commended the NEC for issuing a consistent calendar of activities for the October 10 elections. Stakeholder feedback indicated that the NEC had adhered to the calendar.
The group lauded the NEC’s efforts in adopting the Biometric Voter Register (BVR), which, although not used for voting on October 10, facilitated the elimination of duplicate voter accounts, removing 27,000 duplicates involving 3,464 individuals. Additionally, it identified 500 suspected underage voters.
The group acknowledged the completion of the candidate nomination and registration process, ongoing efforts to train individuals in various communities for civic and voter education, and preparations for election-day execution, monitoring, and supervision.
However, concerns were raised about the deficit in funding for the NEC and its potential impact on the successful conduct of elections. This includes the NEC’s capacity to conduct civic and voter education to inform citizens about the election process accurately. Reports indicated that due to insufficient education and sensitization, many voters still believed there would be biometric voter verification on election day, despite the NEC’s announcement that voting would follow the manual registration system, not biometric verification.
WADEMOS also highlighted gaps in the NEC’s communication regarding electoral matters. Despite completing the biometric voter registration and issuing voter ID cards, the final biometric voter register had not been released and published to all stakeholders, including political parties, civil society, and the public.
The group stated, “The mission acknowledges the assurance of NEC to disseminate the voter register to civil society, political parties and all other stakeholders between September 18th and 28th.”
Changes in the number of polling places, reduced from 5,991 in 2017 to 5,890 in 2023, raised concerns. Ninety-six of the 2,080 precincts reportedly exceeded the 3,000-voter limit prescribed by electoral regulations, potentially leading to overcrowding and congestion at polling places.
The absence of regulations for the collation and tabulation of results in the forthcoming elections also raised concerns. While the NEC intends to release a training manual on result collation and tabulation, it had not done so by the time of WADEMOS’ assessment, creating potential challenges in election-day procedures.
Recommendations
To address these potential issues, WADEMOS called on he NEC to expand its voter education campaign to inform voters not only about election rules and regulations but also about the absence of biometric verification on election day, emphasizing that voting will follow the manual registration system.
The NEC should enhance its communication strategy to improve the dissemination of its achievements and better inform election stakeholders about the rules and regulations governing the elections.
Timely production of the manual on collation and tabulation of results should replace existing rules and regulations, allowing stakeholders adequate time to familiarize themselves with the manual.
The NEC should engage with political parties more on sensitive and pertinent issues to mitigate perceptions of impartiality, and together with political parties and security agencies, ensure the security of the people’s votes.
Adequate security and safety measures should be deployed on election day to ensure that polling precincts and the data center are transparent, accessible, and well-managed.