Liberia: NEC Uncertain About Final Voters’ Roll Release Date

The National Elections Commission (NEC) is yet to provide a definite release date for the release of the Final Registration (voter) Roll, despite political pressure to do so. 

The uncertainty has raised questions among opposition political parties and the general public about the electoral body’s preparedness to oversee the highly contested October 10 polls, which is 16 days away as of September 25.

The voter roll, which contains the names and details of eligible voters, is a critical component of any election and plays a pivotal role in ensuring a fair and credible electoral process.

The electoral body, which has, however, not committed to a specific date for the publication of the voter roll, has insisted that it is working diligently towards making the list available as soon as possible.

In a press release, the NEC claimed that its technical team was working to have the biometric voter toll “placed in a secured format and available to all stakeholders as soon as possible.”

“Printing of the Final Registration Roll (FRR) began about a week ago and is progressing well,” the release said.  “NEC staff are working day and night to ensure that the voter roll and other election materials are deployed in time for the October 10 general elections, especially given the challenges with the delivery of those materials to some parts of the country.”

The electoral body added that, as it has been in the past, the FRR for the 2023 elections will be electronically made available to political parties, independent candidates, and other stakeholders, even though a definite date has not been given.

The release also added that in the absence of the “roll.” a voter check platform (https://vc.necliberia.org), has been created where an individual can check his or her personal voting information as published on the website on August 11.

“Registered voters who wish to access their voting information to visit the platform, enter their Voter ID number, Year of Birth and view their information,” the release noted. 

The delay in releasing the voter roll has led to some of the country’s leading opposition political actors accusing the authorities of the NEC of stalling on transparency, which the commission vehemently denies.

Section 16.7 of the ‘2023 Voter Registration Regulations’ states that the final voters’ role cannot be altered “by the National Election Commission within 30 days prior to an election, except when the Supreme Court orders.” 

The section, according to political actors, means that the Final Registration Roll should have been released sooner so that any claims of “foul” play can be addressed properly since it is open to review, which is intended to gauge the accuracy of their registrations and promote confidence in the electoral process.

The Unity Party Alliance even protested last week, calling on the electoral body to timely release the roll just as Dr. Clarence Moniba had raised concerns over the delay.

Moniba, the Presidential candidate for the Liberia National Union (LiNU), has claimed that the delayed was not an oversight but a flagrant disregard for the Voter Registration Regulations, which the electoral body is expected to uphold.

“The NEC must explain to the Liberian people why they have failed to meet this fundamental legal requirement. We demand answers, and we demand them now,” Moniba said in a statement last week Thursday. “The truth is that the Commission's action is a recipe for chaos and undermines our democratic principles.”

“The people of Liberia,” he added, deserve an electoral process that is beyond reproach, upholds the highest standards of transparency and accountability, and “ensures the accurate reflection of the people's will in the results.” 

The current FRR saga comes after Afrobarometer reported in April of this year noted that popular trust in the electoral body remains weak as Liberia prepares for general elections. 

Afrobarometer, which is a pan-African, non-partisan survey research network, shows that only one-third of Liberians trust the Commission to conduct a fair election — a decline of 10 percentage points since 2018, even though most Liberians express confidence in the secrecy of their ballots.

In a related development, the NEC has said that packaging of materials for the October 10 elections has begun in the NEC Central Warehouse, and “it has gained momentum with the deployment of additional personnel.”

It added that a training of trainers for magisterial staff has been completed, and the training of the next level of staff (Electoral District Coordinators and Electoral Supervisors) will begin in the coming days at the NEC magisterial offices.

“There remains huge interest by both local and international observers in observing the elections. As at September 21, 2023, the NEC had accredited 662 international and 5,981 local observers, giving a total of 6,643. Additional observers are being processed,” the electoral body said. “The deployment of additional consultants to the Data Center will happen soon.”