Monrovia — The Election Coordinator Committee (ECC) has called on the National Elections Commission to extend phase II of the just ended biometric voter registration (BVR) by a week.
Phase 2 of the BVR exercise ended on March 11, and the NEC has ruled out any extension.
In its preliminary report, the ECC, the country's leading civil society network promoting electoral integrity and democratic governance in Liberia, said there were improvement in the process as compared to phase one, but most of the centers observed experienced malfunctioning of equipment.
The ECC called on the National Elections Commission to extend the registration period for at least a week in areas where registration was delayed due to the malfunctioning of equipment.
"This will compensate for the loss of time. In order to increase transparency, ECC requests that the NEC make arrangements for the attendance of political parties and local, national, and international observers during the downloading of phase two data," the ECC said.
The ECC said it observed a relatively low security deployment at voter registration center, even though it was slightly higher than phase one. In Phase one report, the ECC had recommended an increase in security presence at registration centers to cover phase two of the BVR.
The ECC said its preliminary update covers findings from 184 reports over five days of deployment from April 21-May 9, 2023. Overall, the ECC observed that registration centers generally opened on schedule during phase two of the BVR process and with the necessary BVR kits available.
It added that political parties' representatives were present to observe the procedure in 131 of the 180 centers that the ECC observed, which is also an improvement over phase one. Voter trucking, an ominous that has marred Liberia's post war electoral process, was observed during phase two, the ECC noted.
Opening time
The ECC observed that 160 of the 185 centers opened on schedule between 8:00 am and 8:30 am, accounting for 86% of all the centers. Only, 11% of these centers opened after 8:30 a.m. as a result of the late arrival of staff, the lack of ink for the printer, shortage of cards, or a lack of electricity to power the equipment, it added.
During set-up, the centers observed had complete BVR kit. Additionally, these centers were generally accessible, and applicants did not have to go upstairs to access the center. It added that 131 of 183 centers were accessible to everyone, including those with special needs or disabilities.
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It noted the use of canopies or tents on election day is highly encouraged to improve upon this strategy to facilitate easy accessibility for people with special needs.
In 55 of 182 centers observed by the ECC, the equipment malfunctioned but was swiftly fixed; however, the malfunctioning equipment in 14 centers resulted in significant delays.
For applications of registration procedures, the ECC observers noted an improvement in the form NEC registration staff verification of eligibility prior to enrolling applicants during phase two. In 153 of 181 centers, applicants were required to present identification to prove their eligibility to register -often a former voter registration card, and in 178 of 182 centers, applicants' fingertips were marked with the permanent ink once they successfully registered, the ECC noted.
Recommendations
The ECC urged NEC to alert the public to the timing of the release of phase two preliminary results. It wants the Election House to publish phase two results by electoral districts.
Political Parties
It admonished Political parties and aspirants to lodge formal complaints with the NEC if they have concerns about phase two or the outcomes of the process, and called on agents of political parties to continue observing until it is completed.
It called on the security apparatus to investigate and apprehend individuals responsible for the trucking of voters and ensure that they are accorded due process in keeping with the law.
