Monrovia – The National Elections Commission (NEC) 12 political parties are yet to fulfill their obligations under Article 83 d. of the Liberian Constitution which include submitting audited accounts and declaration of assets by September 1, 2017.
Report by Henry Karmo – [email protected]
According to NEC Chairman Cllr. Jerome Korkoya, parties include the Liberty Party, the Movement for Reconstruction and Development (MDR), the Movement for Progress change, (MPC), Liberia Restoration Party (LRP), United People Party, (UPP) and Liberian People Party (LPP) amongst others have failed to honor their constitutional obligations.
At his weekly news conference Chairman Korkayah said only parties including; the Grassroots Democratic Party of Liberia, (GDPL) Movement for Economic Empowerment, (MOVEE), All Liberian Coalition Party, (ALCOP), All Liberian Party (ALP), Coalition for Democratic Change, (CDC) People Unification Party, (PUP), Unity Party, (UP), Liberian Transformation Party (LTP), and the Alternative National Congress (ANC) have honored that requirement under the Constitution.
Punishment for violating the specific provision includes but not limited to; decertification of political parties and fines.
Cllr. Korkoya said “In a campaign year, all assets, liabilities and income including donations should be declared in line with the law. Chapter 7 of the Election law is very detailed in this respect and the National Elections Commission will be using its powers to audit accounts to ensure all political parties respect these rules.
“This is a key transparency measure for political parties and it is important that more efforts are made to submit these documents. Transparency is not only expected from the National Elections Commission, it also required and expected from political parties and this is one legal provision to guarantee that.”
The NEC Chairman also disclosed at the news conference that in line with the election timetable and law, it will distribute the final voters’ register starting on September 10, 2017 to magistrates offices around the country.
The process of cleaning and checking the roll has been completed and the list is now ready.
“There are calls from some individuals for it to be published, but we like to remind those individuals that this is a process and not an event and the National Elections Commission has a responsibility to make sure things are done properly and in accordance with Chapter 3 of the Elections law.
Cllr. Korkoya in furtherance of Chapter 3 said the NEC will follow clear steps to produce the voters’ register which include initial registration, public exhibition, replacement of cards if required, objections and challenges to entries and investigations as well as cleaning and checking the database for any duplication.
He said contrary to what has been mentioned, the National Elections Commission is not obliged to publish the list in the mass media and it does not intend to at this point in time, claiming that there is no example where voters’ registers were published in the mass media.
“Once the voters’ register is available at the magisterial centers, members of the public and other stakeholders will be able to check their details. At the same time copies will be distributed to political parties as a transparency measures. No core changes are permitted to the register at that point without permission from the Supreme Court,” the elections chief noted.
Cllr. Korkoya also warned political parties who have not submitted detailed campaign plans to do so as a matter of urgency. According to him, public security is very important and the NEC wants to avoid campaign programmes coinciding unnecessarily.