The Liberia Elections Observation Network (LEON) has disclosed that the official results that the National Elections Commission (NEC) has announced so far are a true reflection of the actual outcomes of the October 10 presidential and legislative elections.
The election observation group said in a statement on Wednesday, October 18, that the NEC pronouncement of results are "consistent" with polling place-level data that its (LEON) observers collected and analyzed as part of its sample-based observation (SBO) during the 2023 presidential and legislative elections.
LEON said the SBO approach is a proven, statistically based methodology that has been used in more than 40 countries for over three decades to evaluate the quality and integrity of an electoral process.
"LEON's consistent sampling results indicate that NEC's official results can be viewed by stakeholders and voters with trust and confidence," the group said, lending credibility to the NEC's votes counting process.
In Liberia, LEON deployed 904 NEC accredited short-term observers (STOs) to a randomly selected, representative sample of polling places in all 73 electoral districts among the 15 counties.
The group said Its observers followed the voting and counting process at sample locations on Election Day and recorded NEC results data posted publicly at the polling places observed.
"The results data recorded by observers was validated by photographs of the results sheets and cross-verified by LEON's data clerks at its data center," it said. "Our observers reported a transparent counting process in the presence of party agents/poll watchers and observers."
According to the group's statement, its observers were present and did observe results tabulation at the 19 NEC tally centers, which it says is confident that it was conducted transparently and in accordance with procedures.
LEON assesses that NEC largely adhered to its opening of polls, voting, closing of polls, counting, and results tabulation procedures, and they were conducted professionally and transparently.
To give the people of Liberia confidence in the presidential electoral process and demonstrate the degree to which the official results reflect the will of the people, LEON is releasing its SBO results data analysis.
The analysis is based on counting data submitted by LEON's observers at 860 of 904 (95.1%) designated polling places. This provides LEON with a viable data sample and enables LEON to provide an estimated range -- the lowest value and highest value that each candidate could be expected to achieve -- within which the official results from all polling places should fall. Notably, LEON's results analysis shows that no candidate could have reached the 50% plus one threshold for a first-round victory during the 2023 presidential election.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
LEON'S ELECTION OBSERVATION: RESULTS TABULATION SITUATIONAL REPORT
The NEC results, as of October 17, when compared against LEON's estimated percentage ranges of expected results for each candidate, demonstrate consistency between the two sets of results data:
LEON commends the Liberian people for their peaceful participation, as demonstrated by the current national voter turnout rate of 77.71%. LEON calls upon political contestants and supporters to respect the will of the Liberian people, as represented by NEC's official results. LEON urges all stakeholders to redouble their commitment to peaceful and democratic elections during the second round of presidential elections.
