LiberiaDecides’23: Election campaign ends in violence
Tomorrow is general elections, Liberia’s election umpire, the National Elections Commission (NEC), said it is prepared for the country’s fourth election since the end of the civil war.
Speaking in an interview, NEC Chairperson Davidetta Lansanah said the commission has put in place mechanisms to make sure these elections are held tomorrow (10 October) and will employ all Liberians who have registered to vote on election day.
She noted that both sensitive and non-sensitive electoral materials are already being deployed across the country.
This is the first election Liberia will hold without the presence of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) since the end of the civil war. UNMIL exited the West African country after 15 years, in 2018, after what it termed a successful peacekeeping mission in Liberia.
We will say that we are ready. We feel great that we can handle our own electoral process.
Recall clash on Sunday between supporters of two political parties participating in the elections which led to the death of at least one person.
Mrs Lansanah responded to the incidence that her commission has condemned any acts of violence regardless of when they happened because violence tends to prevent the exercise of the democratic franchise.
All Liberians have been advised to abide by the Farmington River Declaration which has been signed by all candidates in the election.
Liberians will Tuesday elect the president, members of the House of Representatives, and half of the Senate. There are 20 candidates on the ballot including incumbent president George Weah and former vice president Joseph Boakai.
The winning candidate must secure at least 50 per cent plus one of the total votes cast to avoid a runoff. No candidate has ever managed that feat. There are 2.4 million (2,471,617) registered voters for the current elections.
