There is no question that the drumbeats of the Montserrado County senatorial by-elections had gathered momentums over the weeks and are now being heard across the county and elsewhere in Liberia. Candidates and their political backers are betting their lucks on the past, the current flow of support, and the hope of a fair conduct of the polls comes November 10, 2009.

But Mr. Charles Walker Brumskine, the "political leader" of the opposition Liberty Party (LP), says the freeness and fairness of the polls should be clad in irons by law and not by hope, which is politically indeterminable. And he's taking up the issue with the National Elections Commission (NEC). The Analyst has been leafing through his "Letter to NEC".

LP political leader Charles Brumskine says the party is tabling its differences with NEC to advance a 21-count proposal for the smooth, free, transparent, and fair conduct of the Montserrado County senatorial by-election and all other NEC-conducted elections henceforth.

He said this was necessary to remove the specter of rig suspicion, post-election tension and amnesty buildup, and violence alibi, which have been dogging Liberia's electoral politics and history since the first contemporary multiparty democratic experiment in 1985.

Background advising the 21-Count Proposal

The foremost opposition political icon did not say what his party's differences with NEC were, but observers say they may relate to opposition contention that NEC and the elections laws of Liberia must be reformed to reflect certain balances and address issues of electoral transparency. The differences reserved, he said, the party's focus for now was to lay a viable framework for the successful outcome of the elections scheduled for November 10, 2009.

"The by-elections will be the largest election held since the 2005 general elections and a key test as to whether we are making progress in moving towards free and fair elections in Liberia ," he said in a communication to NEC that bears the 21-count proposal for the free, fair, and transparent conduct of elections in Liberia .

Not only is the Montserrado senatorial by-election the largest since the 2005 general and presidential elections, Brumskine contended, but he said it was also being held at "a very critical period in the history of Liberia". He called the by-elections, without preamble, "a dress rehearsal for the 2011 presidential and legislations elections" and noted that its outcome has all the likelihood of determining what happens in subsequent NEC-conducted elections in Liberia .

"Irregularities and fraud committed during this by-election are very likely to characterize the 2011 elections. And one need not emphasize the importance of the 2011 elections, being not only free, fair, and transparent, but also be perceived as being free, fair, and transparent," Brumskine said, indicating that Liberians cannot afford the very appearance of impropriety that could give rise to discontent, affecting the nation's fragile peace, and possibly engendering renewed violence.

The former president pro-tempore of the Liberian Senate during the Charles Taylor administration traced the history of Liberia's peace jeopardy to supposedly rigged general and presidential elections in 1985 when Samuel Doe's PRC junta metamorphosed into a civilian administration, thanks to the National Democratic Party of Liberia (NDPL).

Bad Election Regulations, Other Considerations

According to him, while tribal political diversions and blind ambition for political power fueled the conduct of candidates in those elections to a larger extent, the suspicions and anger engendered by the polls results were due mainly to certain bad election laws, which he says are still basically on the books today. He said the Special Elections Commission (SECOM), which was appointed by presidential candidate Samuel K. Doe to conduct those elections, played the result cards so closed to its chest that the cast ballots were in its exclusive custody.

"It is believed that the alleged rigging took place between the time the polls closed and the time the ballots arrived in Monrovia. But because representatives of parties and independent candidates were not given copies of the Tally Sheets, they could not contest the announced results of the elections. The Commission had denied the aggrieved parties of what would have been their evidence of rigging," he recalled.

He said even though the 1997 elections, which Charles Taylor "won", and the 2005 elections, which President Sirleaf won, saw little changes in terms of the immediate announcement of results at the polling centers, the regulation that engendered the 1985 suspicion and bitterness remained unchanged.

"Notwithstanding the more transparent procedure, because the representatives of political parties and independent candidates were not allowed copies of the Record of Counts, some losers did not concede defeat, claiming that the elections were not free and fair. The same rules that led to allegations of rigging in past elections remain in place today. Elections officials keep all of the Record of Counts," Mr. Brumskine said.

One basic reason why NEC probably sees nothing wrong with election officials keeping the record of counts is that party and independent candidate representatives often affix their signatures to the tally sheets and record of counts before they are taken possession of by NEC officials. But Brumskine says that is exactly one poor assumption of poll security and ballot sanctity that must be debunked if election results in Liberia must be considered fair and transparent.

"Those who believe that the signatures of the representatives of candidates/political parties on the Record of Counts would suffice to ensure free, fair, and transparent election results only need to be reminded that Liberia is an underdeveloped, post-conflict country, without a history of democratic elections. Signature verification is difficult, time-consuming, and costly--close to impossible in such a situation," he said.

Closely mimicking the 1985 political imbalance, he said, is the case with Unity Party standard-bearer, President Sirleaf, appointing the election officials and fielding a senatorial candidate for the November by-election and most certainly will field candidates in the presidential and legislative elections of 2011.

Compounded by what he called the "the issue of run-away corruption in government", he said the country was in for more trouble unless immediate changes were instituted in the nation's elections guidelines, specifically those regarding the management of poll outcomes, the conduct of poll officials during and after polling, and the conduct of poll security officers.

Meanwhile Brumskine said NEC will need to implement its propositions or framework to the minimum in order to improve the nation's chances of ensuring credible and peaceful outcomes of the 2011 presidential and legislative elections.

"In the meantime, it is our hope that this framework will serve as the basis for your conduct at this time, and may we all feel proud as Liberians on November 11, 2009, when the results of the Montserrado County Senatorial by-election shall be known," he said.

See the 21-Count "Framework" or Proposal below:

The 21-Count Proposal

Based on the foregoing, Liberty Party proposes the following, which are consistent with the Constitution of Liberia, the Elections Law, and the Comprehensive Peace Agreement that gave rise to our current political dispensation, and practices of democratic elections:

1. The Elections Commission shall make arrangements for the list of polling centers to be published not less than ten (10) days before the election and shall take all necessary steps to ensure that voters are made aware of the location of the various polling places before the election.

2. Each polling center shall be identified to the public by a suitable notice or other means.

3. A change of polling center after due designation, may be made by the Commission, in consultation with participating political parties and independent candidates, and on giving at least forty-eight hours notice to the voters affected thereby.

4. Make public announcements as to the earliest date and time when the voters' registration roll for each registration center shall be opened for public inspection at the office of each Magistrate of Elections, as provided by law.

5. Address the issue of temporary polling centers that were established for internally displaced persons (IDP's) for the 2005 Presidential and Legislative elections, with particular reference to centers that were established in Districts numbers 6, 13, & 14. Attached is a listing of the Districts and the centers. With the resettlement of IDP's, the polling centers should be closed and individuals returned to their counties, and not allowed to vote in the ensuing Montserrado County Senatorial by-election.

6. Representatives of political parties and independent candidates should be allowed to observe the process of voter's card replacement for the Montserrado County Senatorial by-election, and voters' registration (in the future).

7. Police and UNMIL troops that will be present at the polls should have prior training in the laws, rules, and procedures of the election, since they shall be persons of first resort in the event of disagreement/dispute at the polling centers. At a minimum they should know what constitutes "lawful instructions" of Election Officials at the polling place on the day of election. For example, an Election Official requiring a Party Representative to stand away from where the identification of a potential voter is being determined prior to being issued a ballot to vote is not a lawful instruction.

National Elections Commission

8. Two representatives of each participating political party or independent candidate should be certificated by the Commission to be present at each polling place so that a representative of a party or independent candidate will always be present in the event that one has to leave the polling place for whatever reason.

9. The representatives of each participating political party or independent candidate should be seated at the table with the officiating official(s) of the Commission, or allowed to stand thereat, to ensure transparency and fairness in the election process.

10. At the opening of the polls, the ballot box shall be opened and presented to the public including representatives of political parties and/or independent candidates for inspection. After it has been confirmed that the box is completely empty, it will be locked and displayed in the opened view of the public.

11. The number of ballots at each polling center should be revealed by the election official, allowing representatives of political parties and/or independent candidates to verify same. The serial number of any ballot issued shall be recorded by the clerk on the Tally Sheet.

12. All election materials, such as Tally Sheets and Record of Counts, intended to be used during and for the election must be identified and displayed to representatives of political parties and/or independent candidates for inspection, evidencing their availability prior to the commencement of the election, and ensuring that there are sufficient numbers of Record of Counts for the representative of each participant in the election to have a copy thereof after the votes are tallied at the polling centers. This would greatly minimize allegations of election fraud/rigging during the process.

13. Voters should be required to vote at the place of registration. The representatives should be allowed to inspect a voter's registration card to ensure that s/he is voting at the right polling center, if the card is a new card, making sure that it is a replacement card and not a newly issued card, by comparing the information on the card with those on the voters' registration roll. This would be consistent with the law, which provides that, "The Sheriff shall consult with the party representatives present at the count before disallowing any voter under these provisions."

14. A voter who is unlettered or physically challenged may request an assistance of a helper to mark his/her ballot. While such assistance may be provided in the presence of an election official, it should under no circumstance be provided by an election official, as was the case in the 2005 election; neither should it be provided by a representative of a political party or independent candidate or security personnel. Such assistance is to be provided by a person selected by the voter requiring the help.

National Elections Commission

15. Ballots should be counted at each polling center immediately following the close of the polls, in the presence of representatives of political parties or independent candidates, as provided by law. The counting should also take place in the presence of the press and in public view.

16. Immediately upon completion of the counting of the ballots at each polling center, the Election Official at the polling center should announce the results in the presence of Candidate/Party Representatives, the Press, and the public. The Press should not be prohibited, as was the case in 2005, from broadcasting results announced at the polling centers by election officials.

17. Every Candidate/Party Representative should be allowed to retain a copy of each Record of Counts.

18. Candidate/Party Representatives should be present during the second counting (aggregation) of ballots at the provisional headquarters, and during the final counting (aggregation) of ballots in Monrovia. Again, upon completion of the aggregation of the votes at the Provisional Headquarters, the Election Official in charge should announce the results in the presence of the Candidate/Party Representatives and the Press, and provide them copies of their written evidence of the aggregation.

19. During the announcement of results from the counting of ballots, whether at the Polling Centers, Provisional Headquarters, or in Monrovia, the Election Official/Commission should state the number of ballots that have been protested and subject to further consideration, and those that have been discarded. This will ensure from the onset that the number of ballots counted, plus the number of ballots protested, plus the number of ballots discarded, plus the unused ballots (individuals who did not vote), equal the total number of ballots assigned to the Polling Station at the beginning of Election Day.

20. Candidate/Party Representatives should be allowed to inspect all conveying vehicles and storage rooms/facilities, before and after ballot boxes are place in them.

21. UN Staff/UNMIL soldiers should accompany the ballot boxes at all times, as they are being transported from one point to another. Candidate/Party representatives must accompany any consignment of ballot boxes from Provisional Headquarters to the Commission's Headquarters located in Monrovia. (International Community must insist to avoid allegations of ballots disappearance.