The House of Representatives has summoned the Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo-Information Services (LISGIS) to address concerns surrounding the official results of Liberia's 2022 National Housing Population Census.
Amid concerns about a potential constitutional crisis over electoral boundaries and thresholds, the House seeks clarity regarding conflicting population figures of 5.2 million and 5.7 million reported by LISGIS.
The decision of the House's Plenary to summon LISGIS was triggered by a communication from Gbarpolu County District #2 Representative, Luther S. Collins, Chairman of the Joint Committee on Elections and Inauguration and Judiciary. The committee initiated the summoning of LISGIS to resolve discrepancies in the census data.
The House of Representatives voted for the authority of LISGIS to appear before Plenary the last week in October, following a return from their break after the adjournment of the Special Sitting on September 19.
According to Rep. Collins' reports, during the Joint Committee's public hearing, officials of the National Elections Commission (NEC) informed the committee that the institution has not officially received any report from the 55th Legislature regarding the census conducted by LISGIS to inform its decision.
The Committee's report said during his presentation, the Director General of LISGIS Richard Ngafuan mentioned that they are currently conducting stakeholder engagements in Ganta City, Nimba County with their international partners to holistically review the CENSUS report to determine what decision to be made on the census that was conducted as they hope to present such validated report to the Legislature by September 2024.
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"Hon. Speaker, Deputy Speaker, and Distinguished Colleagues, the Joint Committee resolves that with this backdrop, the REAPPORTIONMENT of the electoral district is not achievable until the conclusion of the validation is done by the Management of LISGIS and the final report is submitted to the Legislature for our consideration."
The decision to call upon LISGIS was made following a break and return from a Special Sitting in late September. The institution was summoned to testify before the House in late October.
During a public hearing conducted by the Joint Committee, it was revealed that the National Elections Commission (NEC) had not received an official report from LISGIS regarding the census.
LISGIS Director General Richard Ngafuan indicated that stakeholder consultations were underway to review and validate the census report, with plans to present the finalized report to the Legislature by September 2024.
The Committee emphasized that electoral district reapportionment would be delayed pending the completion and submission of the validated census report.
In February 2024, a communication from Representative Richard Koon prompted the Committees on Elections and Inauguration and Judiciary to investigate the matter and report back to the House.
