Monrovia — The Elections Coordinating Committee (ECC) has expressed dissatisfaction with the National Elections Commission (NEC) following the release of phase one of its ongoing BVR exercise. The ECC stated that NEC workers were not consistently asking applicants to provide proof of eligibility as Liberians to partake in the BVR process.
During a press conference on Wednesday, Malcolm Wleemogar Joseph, a board member of ECC, stated that the NEC registration teams generally followed the registration procedures but did not consistently require applicants to provide proof of eligibility, particularly those who pre-registered online. He further stated that out of 211 registration centers, 64 allowed applicants to register without providing proof of eligibility, while in 147 centers, applicants were required to present proof of eligibility before being registered. Additionally, he said that at eight registration centers, successful applicants did not receive their BVR cards due to a shortage of cards, while 203 of 211 registration centers provided applicants with their voter registration cards before leaving the centers.
Mr. Joseph also mentioned that at 47 of the 211 registration centers, the BVR equipment experienced a malfunction, but the issue was quickly resolved. However, at 18 of these centers, the malfunction caused a serious delay to the process. He also noted that at 68 of 211 registration centers, ECC observers reported that the NEC staff did not fill out the rejection form whenever an applicant was rejected during the first phase of the BVR process in Montserrado, Margibi, Grand Bassa, Grand Cape Mount, Bomi, and Gbarpolu.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
Established in 2010, the Elections Coordinating Committee is Liberia's largest domestic election observation network, with diverse competencies, experiences, and expertise in democracy, elections, and governance. The ECC has provided interim recommendations to improve phase two of the BVR in the remaining nine counties, which include conducting debriefing and adequate supervision of staff to evenly apply registration procedures during the conduct of the process.
The NEC should also make public preliminary registration figures disaggregated by electoral districts, increase the time for voter registration by two weeks for counties with larger populations such as Nimba, Bong, and Lofa, adopt a definite contingency plan to immediately address any possible equipment failure or malfunction during phase two, considering that the counties in phase two are remotely situated. Additionally, the Ministry of Justice should ensure that ongoing investigations into electoral offenses are properly conducted and completed, and the outcomes made available to the public.
Political parties are reminded to train and deploy their agents at all Voters registration centers to maintain confidence in the outcome of the final registration roll, and the Liberia National Police and other security agencies should increase the presence of uniformed security personnel across the phase two counties to help enforce the law.
