Monrovia – The National Democratic Institute (NDI) over the weekend released its latest observations and recommendations on Liberia’s Presidential and legislative elections come October.
Report by Edwin G. Genoway, Jr. – [email protected]
The launch of the observation report on Liberia’s electoral process follows a five-day assessment mission by experts from various African Countries and the United States representing the NDI.
Speaking to journalists at a conference in Monrovia, the Head delegate of the mission, Johnnie Carson, said the delegation has observed the electoral process thus far and have come up with several recommendations that can be considered in the remaining days before the October 10 elections.
The former Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs in the USA said these recommendations are to enhance confidence in the electoral process and to foster peaceful, credible and transparent polls.
“The elections represent a historic moment for Liberia, as the country will have an opportunity for a peaceful transfer of power from one democratically-elected President to another,” said Ambassador Carson.
“Liberia has come a long way to consolidate its democracy, and Liberians can take great pride in the example they are setting for the region,” he added.
For her part, the former Minister for Foreign Affairs and Member of Parliament of the Republic of Ghana, Hon. Hanna Tetteh, further expanded on the recommendations, highlighting the roles of the political parties, candidates, civil society organizations, and the media, amongst others.
Hon. Hanna Tetteh made special emphasis on the state radio affording all candidates equal opportunity to have their platforms and views aired.
Madam Tetteh said a peaceful election is everyone’s business, and as such, all Liberians should be able to get involved in the peaceful process of the election.
“The responsibility of holding peaceful elections is everybody business, it is not only on the shoulder of the NEC or the security apparatus everyone should get involved in the conduct of a peaceful election,” she said.
She said the NDI looks forward to the courts handling cases professionally, “We want the Supreme Court to judge cases in a professional and peaceful manner,” she said.
The National Democratic Institute (NDI) fielded a delegation from September 4 – 8 to assess preparations for Liberia’s October 10, 2017 Presidential and legislative elections. The delegation includes regional and election experts from Africa and North America: Honorable Hanna Tetteh, Former Minister for Foreign Affairs and Member of Parliament (Ghana); Ambassador Johnnie Carson, Former Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs and Member of the Board of Directors, NDI (United States); Dr. Tadjoudine Ali-Diabacte, Former Deputy Director of the Electoral Assistance Division, United Nations (Togo); Dr. Christopher Fomunyoh, Regional Director, NDI (Cameroon); Samantha Smoot, Observation Mission Director, NDI (United States); and Michael McNulty, Senior Program Manager, NDI (United States).
The purpose of the mission was to assess the ongoing campaign period, and to evaluate the overall political environment and other aspects of election preparations aimed at enhancing prospects for peaceful and credible polls in 2017.
While in Monrovia, the delegation held high-level meetings with the National Elections Commission, Presidential candidates, government officials, political party leaders and civil society representatives.
“Under the right circumstances, each Liberian that votes will be making a significant choice about the future direction of the country,” said Dr. Fomunyoh.
“We are interested in learning how various stakeholders prepare to ensure the credible and inclusive elections that the Liberian people deserve.”
The delegation presented its mission findings at a press conference in Monrovia on Friday, September 8, 2017, at the Royal Grand Hotel.
The delegation met with numerous stakeholders throughout the course of their visit including representatives of the National Elections Commission (NEC), Presidential and legislative candidates, political leaders, civil society representatives, and members of the international community.
The delegation also met with President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
In their findings, the NDI said there may still be logistical challenges with the elections due to the ongoing rainy season.
However, NDI said Liberians spoken to during its observation are enthusiastic about the elections.
The NDI recommended to the NEC to provide the complete final register roll in a machine-readable format to political parties and accredited international and citizen election observers, as a further means of ensuring the integrity of the voters list.
The NDI also wants the NEC make the final registration roll available by September 10, 2017, to provide sufficient opportunity for voters to verify their status and check their details.
The NDI in its recommendation wants the NEC to ensure that election results are transmitted securely from magisterial offices to NEC headquarters and are announced in a timely, transparent manner following Election Day, provide polling-place results on NEC website in a timely manner, as planned political parties and candidates.
The NDI launching its report on the elections called for political parties and candidates to adhere to the Farmington and Ganta declaration and promote and ensure peaceful conduct among candidates and supporters.
The NDI says in the process of collecting information from party agents in the polling stations, parties should take caution not to usurp the NEC’s responsibility for announcing official election result.
The international observer group wants politicians to raise awareness of and expresses zero tolerance against women abuse in the electoral process, including towards female candidates.
The NDI in its recommendations called on the civil society to intensify civic and voter’s education, particularly among women and rural communities, and in local languages.
They want civil society to prioritize educating voters on how to fill out ballots properly in order to help reduce the invalid ballots rate.
The NDI also called on the media to promote and self-regulate adherence to the media code of conduct.
The NDI wants media institutions to report only verified information and discourage inciting language and dispel rumors.
Over the last 25 years, NDI has conducted more than 150 election observation missions in 62 countries.
NDI first worked in Liberia in 1997, providing technical assistance to Liberian voter education and election monitoring efforts. The Institute has maintained a permanent in-country office in Liberia since 2003.