MONROVIA – Rumors about the Bomi County lawmaker’s departure from the CDC campaign spread like wildfire during the afternoon hours of Monday. It became banner headline news for some local media entities.

By Henry Karmo, henry.karmo@frontpageafriconline.com

On Tuesday, October 31, 2023, he broke his silence and recommitted his allegiance to the re-election bid of President George Weah, to whom he said he has dedicated his time and energy.

“On my own as an adult, I decided to support Mr. Weah with no precondition, and in my declaration, there were no preconditions. I have my own reasons for supporting him, and those reasons still stand. Whoever Mr. Weah puts on his campaign team is not my prerogative to decide.

“There may be others in the CDC who don’t believe I should be there, and it does not give them a reason to leave. If your speculation is right, I may have an option, and if there’s someone in the room who I feel I should not sit with, I will excuse them, but it does not lead me to jump ship. I remain on the campaign team.”

The Bomi County Senator refused to answer questions about his relationship with the talk show host Henry Costa, for whom it was rumored that he has left the CDC. Bomi County Senator Edwin Snowe on Monday refused to deny or confirm rumors about his self-withdrawal from the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) campaign team. Snowe is the Western region campaign chair of the Party’s campaign.

Counties making up the Western region include Bomi, Gbarpolu, and Grand Cape Mount Counties. According to sources close to the President and Senator Snowe, his decision is based on the inclusion of talk-show host Henry Costa on the CDC team.

Despite his support for the CDC, Ambassador Joseph Boakai of the Unity Party obtained the highest vote count in the three counties in the first-round elections held on October 10, 2023.

On Sunday, October 29, 2023, Mr. Costa, along with the political leader of the All-Liberian Party, Benoni Urey, and his daughter Telia Urey, announced to the country that they are now going to be one of the lead campaigners for the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) in the November 14 run-off election.

Urey, along with his daughter Telia and political commentator Henry Costa, led the party to an endorsement ceremony at the ALP Headquarters in Monrovia.

Disclosing his support for the re-election of President Weah, Urey said, “Mr. President, the All Liberian Party has vested significant authority in me. Today, I have been granted the privilege to inform you, Mr. President, that the All Liberian Party endorses your bid for a second term. We want to assure you that today’s endorsement is not just an ordinary one; it is an endorsement from our hearts.”

Urey had been a staunch ally of Amb. Joseph Boakai until Boakai picked Senator Jeremiah Koung of Prince Johnson’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDR) as his running mate.

Boakai’s choice for a running mate did not go down well with the Ureys and Costa, as well as other figures that supported him.

Sources familiar with the discussion informed FrontPageAfrica that Urey, who exhibited signs of disappointment, questioned Boakai about whether he was prepared to “dance with the devil” by dealing with Senators Prince Johnson and Edwin Snowe. Some say that these two senators are the excess baggage that comes with selecting Koung, as they will exert their influence on him through Koung.

“One Man, Five Votes” The defeated Sinoe County Senator also alleged that under the CDC government, elections seem to have deviated into a scenario of one man, five ballot papers, claiming that the October polls in the Southeast and other regions exposed a “troubling pattern” of election magistrates colluding with NEC Presiding Officers and Election Supervisors to manipulate vote counts in favor of CDC Presidential and Legislative candidates.

“Incidents, such as those in Districts 8 and 15 of Montserrado County, where NEC workers were arrested for criminally inflating votes for incumbent legislative candidates, were disturbingly common in the southeastern counties and other parts of the country.”

MONROVIA – Bomi County Senator Edwin Snowe has chosen not to confirm or deny the rumors surrounding his self-withdrawal from the campaign team of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC). Snowe had been appointed as the campaign chair for the Western region on the Party’s campaign.

By Henry Karmo, henry.karmo@frontpageafricaonline.com

The Western region comprises Bomi, Gbarpolu, and Grand Cape Mount Counties. According to sources close to the President and Senator Snowe, his decision is allegedly linked to the inclusion of talk-show host Henry Costa on the CDC team.

When contacted, Senator Snowe, responding to questions about the rumors, said, “No comment on that, and I have even turned off my phones.”

Despite his support for the CDC, Ambassador Joseph Boakai of the Unity Party secured the highest vote count in the three counties during the first-round elections held on October 10, 2023.

On Sunday, October 29, 2023, Mr. Costa, along with the political leader of the All-Liberian Party, Benoni Urey, and his daughter, Telia Urey, announced to the country that they would now become leading campaigners for the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) in the November 14 run-off election.

Urey, along with his daughter Telia and political commentator Henry Costa, led the party to an endorsement ceremony at the ALP Headquarters in Monrovia.

Expressing his support for President Weah’s re-election, Urey said, “Mr. President, the All Liberian Party has vested significant authority in me. Today, I have been granted the privilege to inform you, Mr. President, that the All Liberian Party endorses your bid for a second term. We want to assure you that today’s endorsement is not just an ordinary one; it is an endorsement from our hearts.”

Urey had been a staunch ally of Ambassador Joseph Boakai until Boakai selected Senator Jeremiah Koung of Prince Johnson’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDR) as his running mate.

Boakai’s choice for a running mate did not sit well with the Ureys, Costa, and other figures who had supported him. Sources familiar with the discussions informed FrontPageAfrica that Urey, displaying signs of disappointment, questioned Boakai about whether he was prepared to “dance with the devil” by dealing with Senators Prince Johnson and Edwin Snowe. Some believe that these two senators are the baggage that comes with selecting Koung, and they will exert their influence on him through Koung.

GBARNGA — Senator, Edwin Melvin Snowe, has said he’s profoundly grieved to learn about the awful events that occurred Friday, September 29, 2023, in Foya District, Lofa County. 

By Selma Lomax, selma.lomax@frontpageafricaonline.com

The Bomi County senator said stories of election-related mob violence that resulted in the deaths of at least three innocent people are both surprising and heartbreaking, especially with ten days to Liberia’s presidential and legislative elections. 

In the aftermath of such a heinous crime, Senator Snowe said, it is critical that Liberians unite as a society to strongly denounce all parties involved in this brutality. 

“Violence has no place in a democratic process, and it undermines the basic foundation of free and fair elections, which Liberia and all nations endeavour to maintain,” he said.

He urged the appropriate authorities to take prompt and decisive action to bring the perpetrators of this violence to justice, adding it is critical that a full and unbiased inquiry be carried out, and that those involved are held accountable for their acts. “To ensure that such incidents do not reoccur in the future, justice must prevail,” he added.

In addition, Senator Snowe urged all political parties and their leaders to honour and uphold the Farmington Peace Declaration. “This dedication to peaceful elections, witnessed by the UN, ECOWAS, and members of the diplomatic community, demonstrates Liberia’s commitment to democracy and stability. Let us remember the ideals of this proclamation and work together to guarantee that elections are held in a peaceful, tolerable, and respectful environment.”

“The moment has come, more than ever, for unity, dialouge, and a collaborative commitment to establishing a peaceful and thriving Liberia. Let us honour the lives lost by ensuring that our democratic process is not disturbed by violence and that the will of the people is conveyed peacefully. We can make Liberia a bright example of democracy and peace in the region if we work together.”

The program is being tailored on high-level representatives including Special Representatives, members of the MSC at the ambassadorial level and the ECOWAS Council of the Wise. The training is part of the “Clingendael Peace Negotiations Programme”.

The Programme is organized and developed by the Clingendael Academy in collaboration with ECOWAS and will take place at the Clingendael Institute in The Hague, The Netherlands. The aim of the Programme will be to further strengthen negotiation and mediation skills and to facilitate the exchange of experiences of representatives from the ECOWAS Commission, Member States and Institutions, to further enhance the regional conflict resolution capacity.

Senator Snowe expressed his delight by the invitation which according to him will afford him the opportunity to share experience.  “We have our own experience we can share about the West Africa sub-region we have had situations in our region that through dialogue we have been able to mediate, ECOMOG is an example of some the things that we have achieved over the years”.

He also recounted that the sub-region has troops in Guinea Bissau and in the Gambia, as well as continuous dialogue in Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea, “as well do not forget Europe NATO does have an ongoing war in Ukraine and Russia dialogue should have been a proper way to go.

But they could not reach a dialogue and there has been full scale war that has lasted over a year, despite the fact that the sub-region has its own ups and downs, likewise Europe, and the sub-region would be sharing their own views and experience on some of the things that they have been able to work on over the years.

He further pointed out that there has been tension in the West Africa sub-region over the years, there has been a problem with the close of the border between Benin and Nigeria, likewise tension within member states.

“We have been able to resolve them and even in the just ended Nigerian general elections, there are aggrieved parties we were able to speak to them that the way out is going through the legal process”.

Sen. Snowe who heads the Liberian delegation to the Community Parliament believes the sub-region has done a lot with a lot of experience to share to the rest of the World.

The Clingendael Institute was founded in 1983 and is in the top ten of think tanks in Western Europe. Its Academy is one of the largest diplomatic training academies in the world. Since 2005, the Clingendael Academy has trained thousands of diplomats and high-level international professionals from around the world.

 Its staff has provided training and support to mediation initiatives in dozens of peace negotiation processes and for over 250 humanitarian aid Organisations. Clingendael has been a trusted partner for various branches of the UN and mediation Organisations such as the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue and is a member of the Mediation Support Network. Clingendael and ECOWAS have collaborated since 2015 with the aim of enhancing the Commission’s regional conflict resolution capacity.

  Senator Snowe will lecture the gathering on the context and work of the ECOWAS mediation support structure with specific learning goals to enhance the understanding of peace negotiation and mediation processes;  Sharing of best practices in mediation and mediation support;  Thinking strategically about future mediation and mediation support.

The advanced course also aims at facilitating a peer exchange and experience sharing on mediation and mediation support. Learning methodology: This advanced training and experience sharing programme start with key fundamentals of negotiation and mediation, followed by more in-depth reflection and experience-sharing on how negotiation and mediated processes work, and the role of mediation support structures.

MONROVIA – Senator Edwin Melvin Snowe of Bomi County has expressed doubts over the applicability of a voter Biometric registration process being introduced by the National Elections Commission a few months before the 2023 presidential and general elections.

In a communication to his colleagues in the Senate, he asked them to prevail on the NEC by inviting them to appear before them to explain the process and what are the possibilities of it being effective for the 2023 elections. His request was granted.

“We don’t intend to interfere with the work of the National Elections Commission, but we must exercise our oversight so that things don’t go out of hand that we will not be able to handle. The cost is exorbitant, that’s one thing, and another thing is can they assure us that if we do the Biometric Liberians will be able to go the pools and vote biometrically,” he said.

According to the Bomi lawmaker, Liberians need assurance about how they will vote on election day and that can be possible if the NEC demonstrates what the biometric will look like prior to 2023. He said, experiences of biometric usage in Nigeria, Togo and Sierra Leone have worked well and it almost caused a problem.

“In most parts of Liberia, we don’t have internet connectivity or network. If we don’t arrest this situation and things go wrong it will be disastrous,” he said.

Senator Johnathan Boy-Charles Sogboie of River-Gee County said his concern is about how the procurement process is being handled. He also expressed fear about the applicability of biometric voter registration.

The NEC plan Biometric process

The National Elections Commission of Liberia in early September announced its preliminary plans for 2023, which include transitioning from optical mark recognition for secure voter registration to fingerprint biometrics

NEC Chairperson Davidetta Browne Lansanah said during a press conference that portable tablets with fingerprint scanners will be used to capture thumbprints for a biometric voter registry. The biometrics could also be used for deduplication and the prevention of impersonation.

Facial images will also be collected, and the NEC will attempt to reduce the volume of incorrect voter data in the system.

Following duplication, biometric voter registration cards will be issued from registration centers.

A biometric voter registration initiative is slated to start on December 15, 2022, and conclude on March 17, 2023. The process will be held in three regional phases, according to the announcement. During each phase, the region’s registration center will be open for three weeks.

Before they begin, the NEC is planning to develop custom registration software, set up servers, have staff trained by the technology vendor, and take possession of imported biometric hardware.

The Commission has budgeted US$61 million for Liberia’s 2023 elections.

Liberia’s NEC and National Identification Registry engaged with political parties earlier this year to inform them that the biometric registry was being planned.

Browne Lansanah has been facing prosecution over allegations that an expensive contract for fever-screening biometric scanners was improperly awarded.