Liberia: Voter Registration to Begin March 20

At long last, the National Elections Commission (NEC) is hopeful that the conduct of the Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) will commence on March 20, 2023 and end on May 11 of the same year.

The Presidential and Legislative Elections are to be held on October 10, 2023, as provided for by the Constitution of the Republic of Liberia. However, over the last twelve months, the NEC has been rocked by one procurement controversy after another, the latest being the identification and awarding of the contract to a qualified company to provide biometric equipment, software, and technical support to NEC.

After nearly five months of the rigmarole, the Commission, on December 22, disclosed at a press conference held at its headquarters in Sinkor that Laxton, a Dutch company, has officially been awarded the contract valued at nearly US$12 million and that the process will be done in two phases.

NEC chairperson, Davietta Browne Lansanah, said phase one of the Biometric Voter Registration Exercise will last for three weeks “beginning March 20, to April 9, 2023.”

“Phase two of the Voter Registration exercise will begin on 10 April 2023 and will last for three weeks, too. This means phase two, or the last phase of the Biometric Voter Registration will be concluded on May 11, 2023,” Lansanah informed journalists.

Seven counties, including Montserrado, Margibi, Grand Bassa, Bomi, Grand Cape Mount, and Gbarpolu will be served in phase one while Rivercess, Sinoe, and Grand Kru will form part of phase two. Others to be served in phase two include Maryland, River Gee, Grand Gedeh, Nimba, Bong and Lofa will complete the number of counties for phase two of the Biometric Voter Registration.

Lansanah said that the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP) is set to disburse the remaining US$8,377,000 as the balance due the Commission as from the approved 2022 fiscal year budget.

The Commission has struggled over the months to gain public trust and confidence ahead of the 2023 elections, more so that there have been several controversies surrounding the procurement processes leading to the contract being awarded to a qualified vendor to provide the required Biometric materials and software.

As the Public Procurement and Concessions Act (PPCA) empowers all heads of Ministries and agencies of government to serve as heads of their respective procurement processes, even though there is a procurement department in each ministry and agency, the NEC chairperson took charge and oversaw efforts to award the contract to EKEMP but was denied a “No Objection” twice by the PPCC.

And while Waymark and its local partner Mwetenna and HID Global and its local partner Professional Services International (PSI) were considered by the NEC bid evaluation panel to be more qualified above EKEMP, NEC chose not to go their way, but instead selected Laxton. Laxton was earlier disqualified for using a laptop to print and failed to meet the pre-financing requirement as provided for in the Commission’s bid document.

PPCC issued a “No Objection” to NEC on November 24, allowing the elections body to award the contract to Laxton on grounds that the clarifications needed from the NEC were provided and assurance on ensuring that there is value for money was guaranteed.

After over one month of discussions, Laxton has told NEC that the use of the required rugged Biometric Tablets would not be productive as  compared to the use of laptops; thereby compelling the Commission to accept the condition, even though no other company was given consideration to make any amends or change anything from its original plan in line with the bid document of the Commission.

Waymark, out of disappointment over NEC’s action to award Laxton, which is said to have been one of the least performing companies at the demonstration and re-demonstration exercises, filed its grievances to the Commission hoping that a relief or reconsideration woud come but to no avail as Lansanah and her team’s minds were already made up and not willing to change.

PSI, the local partner to HID Global, also registered that it was surprised that NEC neglected it, even though it has the most financial capacity, and that it has materials in Liberia to help the Commission save time and ease the burden of waiting longer.

NEC, however, has argued that LAXTON is qualified to do the job and that it will deliver according to expectations. The 2023 Biometric Voter registration will be the first of its kind in Liberia as the country over the years used Optical Manual Recognition (OMR) gadgets to conduct voter registration.

The call for the use of the biometric system is a result of calls from several actors, including politicians, civil society actors, and some international partners to safeguard the voter roll of the country from manipulations that usually affect the conduct of free, fair, and transparent elections.