Liberia: Liberians Urged to Denounce Violence

The Election Situation Room (ESR) has urged Liberians to refrain from any act that is likely to threaten the peace and security of Liberia in the post-election period.

Benedict Roberts, who delivered the press statement on behalf of the ESR, said political parties should continue to prevail on their supporters to remain peaceful and law-abiding during the counting, tallying, and announcement of results. 

He said the Joint Security and NEC should swiftly launch an investigation into these and other forms of electoral violence that breached the electoral law to ensure deterrence.

Roberts is therefore “encouraging Liberians to resist all attempts to disseminate unverified or inflammatory information on mainstream and social media platforms. 

Meanwhile, Roberts also extends appreciation to Liberians for their diligence and patience throughout the voting process, especially in areas that experienced challenges with the late start of the polls. And call on all stakeholders to exercise tolerance and trust in the electoral system while they wait for the collation, counting, tallying, and final declaration of the results by the National Elections Commission (NEC).

“We also thank all domestic and international observers for their role in strengthening democracy and electoral integrity in Liberia,” Roberts said. “Finally, we are grateful to all our partners for their support so far.

He further said that ESR will continue to use their good offices and through backdoor channels to prevail on party supporters and leaders to eschew violence and maintain the peace. 

Additionally, he said they continue their monitoring, analysis, and mitigation by focusing on indicators of threats to the peaceful conduct of the election under the Electoral Violence Monitoring, Analysis, and Mitigation (E-MAM) project, supported by the European Union and complemented by Swedish and Austrian Development Agencies.

The ESR is being implemented in partnership with the Office of the Special Representative of the President of the ECOWAS Commission in Liberia, the Peacebuilding Office (PBO), and the Insider Mediators represented by and through the National Election Response Group (NERG) in Liberia.

Roberts mentioned that the voting process went well in most polling areas monitored by their observers and by the electoral law. 

He also disclosed that the presence of relevant Election Officials, Joint Security, and political parties’ poll watchers was in most of the polling stations even as the voting process was concluding. 

Roberts continues by saying that youth and female participation were encouraged, with females representing 30-50% of voters, while youth constituted more than 50%. Our observers also reported that the polling centers were accessible to all, including persons with disabilities (PWDs). 

According to him, their observers reported that voting proceeded peacefully in the places they observed and reported that there were isolated cases of verbal and physical attacks in some counties, including Montserrado - District #10 Polling Center #30306, and Living Water Baptist School, a man was asked to leave the polling center by a security officer for campaigning for one of the parties against the electoral rules. 

And Nimba - District #1, Center #33078, Foundation Academy a voter attacked the Ballot Paper Issuer for attempting to fold his ballot paper after voting, which led to a Scuffle between two other voters, but security intervened and put the situation under control.

“In Nimba - District #1, Center #33073, YMCA High School,” ESR added, “unidentified individuals allegedly attempted to prevent the Vice Standard Bearer of the UP, Senator Jeremiah Koung, from entering the polling center by hurling insults. But security immediately moved in and put the situation under control.
 

Roberts commended NEC for improving on some of the hitches identified in the October 10, 2023 election, to include the disaggregation of voters list for easy identification. 

“There were disagreements between CDC and UP Poll Watchers regarding the use of the Final Registration Roll (FRR) because the Polling Officer (PO) instructed the Verification Officer (VO) not to announce a voter’s identity,” he said, “But in a press release issued [on November 14, 2023], the National Elections Commission (NEC) rejected the report that there was a signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with political parties wherein procedures for voter’s identification were agreed with the political parties.

In conclusion, Benedict D. Roberts disclosed that in Montserrado District #8, Center #30407, Monrovia Demonstration School and Montserrado District #8, Center #30443, Jallah Town Hall, some alleged hoodlums, dressed in black attire, stormed the polling centers, sparking fear amongst voters.