MONROVIA – Recent election results released by the National Elections Commission on Sunday now bring the Commission about 75 percent closer to announcing the final results of the October 10 Presidential and General Elections.

On Sunday, the NEC chairperson, Davidetta Browne-Lansannah, announced progressive results from 4,295 of the 5,890 polling places, which constitutes 72.92% of the total polling places.

The NEC disclosed that the progressive results show that 1,355,140 valid votes have been tallied so far while 80,910 invalid votes have been recorded.

President George Weah remains in the lead, but there is a very thin margin between him and Ambassador Joseph Boakai of the Unity Party. According to the NEC, President Weah has obtained 593,558 votes (43.80%) while Ambassador Boakai has 589,977 votes (43.54%).

Below are the results between Ambassador Joseph Nyumah Boakai (JNB) and President George Manneh Weah (GMW) by county.

Monrovia – Liberia’s voting process has reached over 6 hours, with two million four hundred seventy-one thousand six hundred seventeen registered voters (2,471,617) participating across the country.

Early signs indicate a massive turnout in the 5,890 polling centers within the 2,080 precincts across the country, with no significant threat of election violence.

However, the National Elections Commission (NEC) restrictions, which prohibit the use of phones inside the precincts, have been violated by some voters.

NEC stated, “No phones will be allowed within the polling place; your vote, your secret.”

One notable individual who violated this rule is the Managing Director of the National Insurance Corporation of Liberia, Sam Manneh, who posted pictures of his ballot papers on Facebook but later deleted them.

Manneh’s post, which read “Done and dusted! God bless Liberia,” was captured by veteran Liberian journalist Molley Paasewe.

Paasewe posted, “Sam Manneh, I’ve got you on blast. Deleting your post won’t help Weah.”

Another individual, David Tiawulah, who posted pictures of his ballot papers in the Sinoe Forum, stated, “No matter the long list, we were able to select bad road medicine with too much care!”

A voter who goes by the name Liberia Liberalism and posted in the Alternative National Congress group said, “We have already taken the lead. Congratulations Cummings #4.”

Julius T. Jaesen II indicated in his Facebook caption with the ballot papers, “I have done my part for the good of the country. ABC President, Wilmot Paye, Senator Emmanuel Gonotee, and Representative.”

Monrovia – The Supreme Court has ordered the appearance of the Chairperson of the National Elections Commission (NEC) and all Commissioners and officers of the NEC to appear before before Associate Justice Jamesetta Howard Wolokolie on Saturday, September 30, 2023, at 9:00 a.m to give reasons why the opposition Unity Party’s Petition for Mandamus should not be granted.

The Unity Party early this week petitioned the Supreme Court for a Writ of Mandamus on the National Elections Commission that would compel the Commission to make available copies of the Final Registration Roll (FRR).

Furthermore, the NEC has been commanded to make the FRR for each magisterial area available for public inspection during normal business hours and provide electronic copies to stakeholders in a secured form by 4:00 p.m. on the same day.

Fighters and commandants of the unbroken and uncompromising Economic Freedom Fighters of Liberia (EFFL), CIC Julius S. Malama, Deputy President Floyd Shivambu, International Affairs Gardee Goodrich and the entire leadership of EFF South Africa, members of the international community, religious leaders, the student community, the Islamic community, members of the press and fellow citizens.

We are here today to address a grave national electoral crisis on the continuing delay of the NEC to publish the FRR at all polling precincts throughout the country and to issue full copies of the FRR to all political parties, independent candidates and relevant stakeholders for the October 10, 2023 presidential and legislative elections as required by the election laws of Liberia. The continuing delay and intransigence of the NEC have the propensity to intensify and plunge the country into deeper and wide spread national crisis.

The NEC was established to independently and impartially administer the election laws of Liberia. Over the last two years alone, the NEC has received over US$50 million in support of carrying out these administrative functions. But when the NEC fails to follow the election laws, it unfairly transfers tremendous and unnecessary burdens on us all as election stakeholders, eligible voters and all Liberians.

Fellow citizens, Senator Dillon, as senator of the largest and most populous county in the country, Montserrado County, acted within the law to invite the NEC to the Liberian Senate and to inquire from the commission under oath about the status and concerns on administering the 2023 elections. His further invitation to the general public to go with him to the NEC on Friday, September 22, 2023 due to the failure of the commission to live up to its promise under oath to publish the FRR and to issue the FRR to political parties and independent candidates by the 18^th of September, 2023 is also within the law and cannot and should not be interpreted as an act of provocation or threat.

 On April 17, 2023 the commission under the chair of Davidetta Browne-Lansannah held a press conference in the presence of the press of Liberia (including the Analyst Newspaper and New Dawn Newspaper), and the International Community in which the commission announced and published the results of the Phase-I BVR Preliminary results as outlined below in item number 6 of the press conference release:

“6. Preliminary results from Phase One shows a total of 1,435,209 (One Million Four Hundred Thirty-Five Thousand Two Hundred and Nine) registrants…..This figure is subject to change due to the ongoing deduplication and adjudication process……”

Similarly, on May 25, 2023, Davidetta Browne-Lansannah chaired a press conference in the presence of the press of Liberia (including the Hot Pepper Newspaper), and the International Community in which the commission announced and published the results of the Phase-II BVR Preliminary results as outlined below in item number 1 of the press conference release:

“1. The National Elections Commission informs you that having ended on 11 May 2023 the Biometric Voter Registration in Phase Two of the nine counties, the following are preliminary results:

NOTE: As was indicated during the release of the Preliminary Results for Phase One, these figures are also subject to change following the completion of the deduplication and adjudication process……”

Again, on August 2, 2023, as reported in the Frontpage Africa Newspaper, the NEC held a briefing in collaboration with ECOWAS and the UN in which Davidetta Browne-Lansannah stated, “While the commission has transitioned to biometric voter registration, the voting in the October 10, 2023 general and presidential elections will be done manually as it has been in the past……”

“The NEC chair informed political leaders that the 27,000 duplicate records discovered during the Biometric Voter Registration process were created by 3,634 individuals who double registered…”

Below is the compilation of the preliminary results from Phase I and Phase II for all 15 counties against the final results (as reported on NEC website) after deduplications and adjudications.

It is unclear how the NEC removed the 27,000 duplicate votes from the preliminary results of Phase I and Phase II to arrive at the final registered voters. Moreover, 3,634 individuals cannot produce 27,000 duplicate votes (double registering) as is claimed by the chair of the commission, Davidetta Browne-Lansannah, unless each of the 3,634 individuals on average registered more than 7 times (7 X 3,634 = 25,438).

Additionally, Grand Bassa, Margibi and Montserrado show increases from the preliminary Phase I results to the final results which should not happen given that duplicate votes were removed from the preliminary to yield the final results. Therefore, the final results for these 3 counties should be less than their preliminary numbers as are the cases with the other counties.

The commission also increased the number of polling places from 5,390 (the number of polling places in 2017) to 5,890 polling places an increase of 500 polling places although the number of polling precincts has remained unchanged from 2017. This is a significant and material change and the commission should inform the stakeholders on the reason for this increase in the number of polling places.

NEC 2023 and 2017 Polling Places Comparison

For us in Margibi where I am on the ballot for the Senate, The NEC added an additional 59 polling places compare to 2017. We now have to allocate 882 poll watchers for each of the 441 polling places in order to protect the votes of our people.

Let me assure the voters of Margibi that our poll watchers will be vigilante in observing all aspects of the election monitoring and counting processes for both the presidential as well as the legislative elections. Our poll watchers will reconcile the 550 ballots issued for the Presidential elections and the 550 ballots issued for the legislative elections to each of the 441 polling places across Margibi.

For those candidates running in the presidential elections, the tasks of recruiting 11,780 poll watchers for each of the 5,890 polling places is very challenging. This is why it is imperative that the NEC publishes the FRR and issues same to the political parties and independent candidates without further delay.

In 2017 the NEC informed the stakeholders that it had registered 2,183,683 voters. But the NEC announced that only 1,641,922 votes were cast in the first round of the elections and an even lower votes total, 1,218,124, were recorded in the second round. Yet, the NEC, from the 2023 BVR exercises, has announced unusually high voter registrants against historical norms.

We, therefore, call on all revolutionaries, national and community leaders and all well-meaning Liberians around the country to volunteer as poll watchers in the community and polling places they vote. Organize watch nights on October 10, 2023 and be vigilante as we strive to protect the votes of every Liberian.

Lastly, let me admonish our partners within the international community including the United States Embassy in Monrovia, European Union Commission, ECOWAS and the African Union.

Our people have suffered enough. Many have trekked across the Sahel into North Africa only to drown in the Mediterranean Sea as they try to seek a better life in Europe and elsewhere because their leaders at home have failed them. We all have seen the gruesome pictures flash across our televisions and newspapers.

While we, in Liberia, have embraced democracy as do many countries on the continent, it is necessarily important that the will of the people be protected and respected during elections as manifested by their votes. Electoral bodies like the NEC must be an impartial referee and obey all rules, laws and regulations at all times.

Liberia’s hard-won peace must be protected. We cannot allow Liberia to slide into unrest or war. NEC bears the greatest responsibility in ensuring that there is a free, fair, transparent and credible presidential and legislative elections. The intransigence of Davidetta Browne Lansannah in publishing and releasing the FRR and ensuring free, fair, transparent and credible elections will lead to a major crisis as we the people will not tolerate any disenfranchisement.

Thank you.

MONROVIA – As political campaign activities for the conduct of the ensuing October 10 general and presidential elections heighten in Liberia, former Bomi County Senator Sando Dazoe Johnson has sounded a caveat to authorities of the National Elections Commission (NEC) against rigging the outcome of the elections in favor of incumbent President George Manneh Weah.

By Obediah Johnson

Senator Johnson is a member of the campaign team of Unity Party Standard Bearer Joseph Nyuma Boakai.

President Weah is seeking re-election on the ticket of the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC).

Speaking in an interview with FrontPage Africa via telephone recently, Mr. Johnson attributed the 14-year civil crisis in Liberia to the rigging of national elections.

He said authorities of the commission should be mindful of thwarting the results of the elections to retain President Weah to avoid stirring up confusion in Liberia.

“Election rigging has been one of the main causes of trouble or crisis in Liberia. When (former President) Samuel Doe rigged the elections, we saw what happened. And so, the National Elections Commission (NEC) knows exactly that rigging elections will bring confusion.” 

Mr. Johnson said the commission should ensure that the election results are free, fair, and transparent, regardless of who will win the presidency.

The presidency is the highest seat in Liberia.

“Whoever wins cleanly, that person should be considered the leader. Any attempt to thwart or rig (the results) in favor of anybody or the ruling establishment, the Liberian people will not accept that.”

He stressed that in order for Liberians and other foreign residents to go about their normal businesses and continue to live in peace and harmony to move the country forward, those heading the NEC should announce the actual and fair winners elected by the Liberian people.

He maintained that Liberians would not be willing to accept the denial of the will by the NEC just to please a particular group of people.

 “I am calling on NEC to ensure that they remain credible and they should observe all the election laws and make sure all these (electoral) bad practices are stopped so that Liberia can move forward.”

Mr. Johnson expressed confidence that the opposition Unity Party would “man and protect” their votes to avoid being cheated.

“(President) Weah cannot win Montserrado, Bong, Nimba, Grand Bassa, and Lofa. And so, how does he become President?”

We remain focused

Since the start of the political campaign on August 5, Unity Party Standard Bearer Ambassador Joseph Boakai has been the subject of verbal personal attacks from his main political archrival President Weah and scores of executives and partisans of the CDC.

He has been teased consistently for being a “sleeper and sick man” due to his old age.

Though grassroots supporters of the governing party are on record for calling on their leaders to desist from personally attacking their political opponents and sell their platform and gains made over the last five years to the electorates, the throwing of jibes continues to dominate speeches coming from leaders of the CDC at campaign rallies.

However, it appears that the campaign team of the Unity Party Standard Bearer is not giving ears to these attacks from an executive of the ruling party.

“Our focus is to campaign for Joseph Boakai. We are not going after people who will insult Boakai because if you go after them, it will serve as a distraction and we will lose focus and get off balance. We are not going to react to everything. We are focused. Some of their denigrating statements will promote Ambassador Boakai.”

On his previous support to Weah, Mr. Johnson pointed out that he braced the CDC over Ambassador Boakai in 2017 due to the decision taken by his former party, the National Patriotic Party (NPP) to form a merger with the CDC.

According to him, Vice President Jewel Howard Taylor was also instrumental in luring his support to President Weah.

He said the Liberian leader has miserably failed to develop Liberia and help transform the living conditions of the masses as promised during the campaign period of the 2017 elections.

This, Mr. Johnson added, continues to serve as a major reason why he and others who previously supported the presidential ambition of President Weah have refused to support him and now want to “undo” what they did.

“Vice President Jewel Howard Taylor came and talked to me about supporting Mr. Weah. I voted for him because of the intervention of VP Taylor. She appealed to me and I decided to help him thinking that they were going to move the country forward to another level. We thought that because (President) George Weah is a young man and he comes from a slum community, he will make us proud by doing what he promised and was supposed to do. But he has failed us.”

“We have been going back to people we campaigned to before to say that, we are sorry; we made a mistake by giving our country to these people who are not able to manage it. That’s the message we’re taking.”

He claimed that the fight against corruption, high level of division, huge local and international debts, secret killings influx of illicit drugs in the country, poor healthcare and education systems, and disrespect for the rule of law, are unresolved issues that would prevent President Weah from retaining the presidency.

Meanwhile, Mr. Johnson has called on Liberians to remain steadfast, and vigilant and vote for the leaders of their choice during the elections.

He said a true leader with the experience, integrity, and honesty is needed to transform the country and help ensure that citizens benefit from the wealth and resources of Liberia.

“Our resources should be properly managed. It should not be used for only a few privileged people. And so, we are calling on our supporters to remain calm and responsible during this campaign. We don’t want any violence; we will remain peaceful and civilized.”

NEW CASTLE, Delaware – The Political Leader of the opposition Liberty Party (LP), Senator Nyonblee Karngar-Lawrence, says the National Elections Commission (NEC) of Liberia is not independent; and it has no integrity.

By Moses D. Sandy, mds66.sandy@aol.com, Contributor

As a result, Senator Karngar-Lawrence says, the Liberty Party has no confidence in the Commission’s leadership. The Senator represents Grand Bassa County in the Liberian senate. She said the LP does not trust the Commission; and the Party’s leadership has resolved not to work with the Commission.

Liberty Party is the second biggest opposition political party in Liberia, but the Party is currently embroiled in an internal conflict which started in 2021 due to reported alternations of some provisions of its constitution by Chairman Musa Bility and some LP executives. Since then, the Party remains divided between two factions with each headed by Chairman Bility and the Political Leader.

The Grand Bassa County Senator said the current NEC headed by Chairperson Davidetta Browne-Lansanah is compromised; and it has lost its independence. She spoke recently when she granted an exclusive podcast interview to The Issues Room, a Liberian owned social media platform based in the United States of America (USA). The LP Political Leader declared, “The NEC is an integrity institution; and its mandate is to ensure that elections conducted in Liberia are free, fair, transparent, and peaceful in upholding the fledgling Liberian democracy.” However, she said the Davidetta Browne- Lansanah led Commission has fallen short in meeting these expectations.

She said Liberia’s next general and presidential elections are scheduled for 2023; and the NEC is charged with the responsibility of conducting the elections, “but when you at this point already have an election commission that is showing that it is compromised, that’s worrisome.”

The Senator said the Commission’s Chairperson is conflicted and she has integrity problem. She maintained, “The Chairperson is not independent.”

Touching on the LP internal crisis, the Grand Bassa County Senator said the crisis in the Liberty Party is being politicized; and she blamed the Chairperson and the NEC for exacerbating the conflict. The Senator said the conflict remains unresolved because of the failure of the NEC to respect rulings from the Supreme Court; and adhere to its own electoral laws and policies in dealing with the crisis. She accused the NEC Chairperson of being conflicted in the LP leadership crisis.

She accused Mrs. Browne-Lansanah of having a dual relationship with the Chairman of Liberty Party, Musa Bility. She recalled that in December of 2021 when the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) was prosecuting the Chairperson for acts of malfeasance at the Commission, it was Mr. Bility, who helped her in securing a bond. “That’s conflict of interest,” the LP Political Leader frowned.

Then the Chairperson was charged along with other accomplices of the NEC and forwarded to court for prosecution. She was indicted for conflict of interest after she admitted to presiding over an NEC’s bidding process that fraudulently awarded a contract to a Liberian business, Tuma Enterprise Incorporated. The monetary value of the contract is more than 182 thousand US dollars; and the company allegedly has a family tie to her.

According to the LACC, Chairperson Browne-Lansanah and the company’s Vice President for Operations, David Browne, are paternal half-siblings while Mr. Arnold Badio, owner, and incorporator of the company, is Mr. Browne’s maternal half-brother. Also, she was accused of violating Section 1.3.6 of the National Code of Conduct, which speaks against conflict of interest. However, in April of this year, the Judge of Criminal Court “C” at the Temple of Justice dismissed the criminal charges.

Meanwhile, the LP Political Leader says she will this Friday, October 21, 2022, lead a protest match in Monrovia against the NEC and its Chairperson Browne-Lansanah for the conflicted role they continue to play in the Party’s internal conflict. She said, “We will match to the offices of the US Embassy, European Union (EU), United Nations Peace Building Mission, and other international partners to tell them that the Liberty Party can’t work with the NEC because the Commission is compromised”. She emphasized, “It is time that the conflict in Liberty Party comes to an end”.

In a related development, Senator Karngar-Lawrence has described the Liberian Legislature as the most compromised branch of the government. She said the legislature is not independent. She claimed, “About 90 % or even more of the lawmakers in the legislature do not make independent decisions. They follow decisions made by the executive branch headed by the President”.

She said the inefficiency of the Liberian legislature is not unique to the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) administration. She stressed, “This is an age-old problem.” She attributed the problem to what she called an over powerful executive branch headed by the president.

She said the problem is further compounded by ignorance. The Grand Bassa County Senator declared, “Most Liberian lawmakers do not know the function of the legislature. They do not know their job duties and responsibilities.” She defined the fundamental roles of legislators as representation, oversight, and lawmaking. She said, “With effective oversight by lawmakers, we would help in making political changes in government, but unfortunately that’s not the case.”

She said there are people in the legislature, who are fixated only on championing the political agenda of the government or the ruling party. She furthered, “Those People are not interested in the wellbeing of the country or its people.” Senator Karngar-Lawrence is currently in the United States as a guest of the Association of Liberian Journalists in the Americas (ALJA). She arrived in the country early this month; and she was one of several eminent Liberians that attended and participated in the Association’s post crisis eighth annual convention activities held from September 29^th through October 2, 2022, in Worcester, Massachusetts.

On Saturday, October 1^st, she spoke at the convention’s general assembly. She delivered a paper on the theme, Challenges Facing Women Political Participation in Liberia. ALJA was revived in 2014 following 10 years of dormancy. The Association crumbled in 2004 due to internal rift amongst its members and former leaders.

ALJA is a conglomeration of current and retired Liberian journalists residing in the Americas. It is a 501c (3) non-profit organization. It was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1998 with the objectives of advancing press freedom through media capacity building. The Association is also, dedicated to fostering the principles of good governance in Liberia through media advocacy.