A Congressional delegation from the United States Congress and their spouses on Tuesday paid a working visit to the National Elections Commission (NEC) headquarters to familiarize themselves with the inner workings of the Commission.

During the visit, the Acting Chairman of the Commission, Cllr. Elizabeth 3. Nelson briefed the delegation on preparations the Commission is making for the Electoral Boundary Delimitation, Voter Registration and the 2011 elections. Cllr. Nelson also informed the Congressional delegation of challenges the NEC is faced with such as the non-passage of key electoral bills, including the population Threshold Bill currently docked at the National Legislature.

According to a NEC release, Cllr, Nelson alerted the delegation on work done on the harmonization of the local boundary structures, the drafting of key electoral bills and their submission to the National Legislature and the ongoing preparatory work for the pending voter registration.

Cllr. Nelson used the occasion to extend gratitude to the Government and people of America for their continuous support to the building of democracy in Liberia. She singled out the US17.5 million five-year electoral support grant that is being managed by USAID and implemented by IFES and the construction of a modern office complex for the NEC, the release said.

The release quotes the Country Director of the International Foundation For Electoral Systems (IFES/ Liberia), Shalva Kipshidze, as saying IFES was working in close collaboration with the NEC to set up the Information Technology Section of the NEC, because, according to him, that section is very critical in electioneering, especially when it comes to tallying and tabulation of results. Mr. Shalva also indicated that IFES was partnering with the NEC in sourcing and procuring election equipment and materials.

The visiting US Congressional delegation, headed by David Price expressed gratitude to the NEC family for keeping the flames of democracy burning and said the experience learned from their visit with the NEC was invaluable and will impact their work when they return to the United States, the NEC release said.