The Elections Coordinating Committee (ECC) in partnership with the Irish government launches Deeping and Consolidating Liberia's Democracy here.
Speaking at the official launch on Thursday, June 15, 2023, in Monrovia, Chairperson Cllr. Oscar Bloh said the project, which runs for one year (May 2023-June 2024) is valued at US$100,000 (One Hundred Thousand United States Dollars).
He says the grant compliments a current electoral project of the ECC funded by USAID.
Cllr. Bloh explains the project implementation is tied around four distinct yet interrelated pillars: citizens' participation, electoral integrity and electoral security.
"Under the first pillar, the focus of the intervention will be the provision of civic and voter education to first-time voters to enable them to make informed decisions; the second pillar deals with promoting electoral integrity through the deployment of three hundred (300) observers on election day; pillar three focuses on building citizens' trust in the police through the conduct of police-community dialogues; police are under-resourced in terms of personnel, logistics, and finance for operations, while the fourth pillar highlights consultations on electoral reforms."
He notes that on October 10th this year, Liberia will be conducting its fourth consecutive general and presidential elections since the end of the civil war in 2003, and the cost of the elections will be largely provided by government and international partners.
"The management of the election will be done by the NEC without substantial external logistical support from the international community while electoral security will be the full responsibility of internal security agencies (LNP and LDEA)".
Cllr. Bloh stresses that security agencies must be perceived as neutral and demonstrate non-partisan posture in dealing with all political actors, including women.
He notes that electoral violence in many instances is a calculated attempt by individuals or political parties to instill fear and intimidation in their opponents with the sole purpose of influencing the outcome of election.
He says when this happens, it undermines the doctrine and principle of fair competition that is required for the conduct of any election.
Bloh at the same time commends public officials who have resigned their positions because they wish to either contest for elected offices or to be active during the campaign period.
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However, he says his attention has been drawn by active involvement of the Chair of the Governance Commission in active politics in contravention of Section 5.3.4 of the Act that established the Commission.
"It states that commissioners must maintain a non-partisan stance to prevent the commission's agenda and processes from being influenced by political biases", he explains.
He adds that more troubling, his conduct also violates the Code of Conduct for Public Officials (Section 5.1.3) which clearly prohibits public officials from engaging in political activities while in office, and if nothing is done to stop this unlawful behavior, it could be carried out by other public officials when campaign starts.
He says support from the Irish government will contribute to the work of the ECC in providing an independent voice on the electoral process without fear or favor.
Also speaking, the senior governance programme advisor at the Embassy of Ireland, Good E. Kolubah, says Ireland is proud and delighted to continue its partnership with the Elections Coordinating Committee (ECC) on the project.
Mr. Kolubah notes the aims of the project are to promote increased civic awareness amongst youth and women, especially first-time voters, and increase collaboration between citizens and the security sector to improve electoral security, and create a safe space for all citizens, especially women and youth, to actively participate and contribute to democratic processes in Liberia. Editing by Jonathan Browne
