Africa-Press – Liberia. Ahead of the much-anticipated Nimba County Senatorial By-election scheduled for April 22, youth wings of six registered political parties have signed a declaration committing to peaceful participation and rejecting all forms of electoral violence.
The signing of the “Ganta Declaration” took place on Friday, April 11, 2025, during an inter-party youth dialogue aimed at fostering peaceful democratic engagement among young people during the electoral process.
Organized by the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy (NIMD) with support from the European Union (EU), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Swedish Government, and Irish Aid, the event brought together 18 youth representatives from the Unity Party (UP), Congress for Democratic Change (CDC), Vision for Liberia Transformation (VOLT), All Liberia Party (ALP), National Democratic Coalition (NDC), and the Movement for Democracy and Reconciliation (MDR).
The young political leaders committed themselves to promoting peaceful elections, civic education, and non-violent campaigning, while reaching out to their peers to discourage hate speech, misinformation, and violence—particularly against women.
“We commit ourselves to an orderly and peaceful by-election,” the declaration reads. “We pledge to be agents of peace before, during, and after the electoral process and to promote national unity, social cohesion, and political tolerance.”
The youth leaders also urged their peers to conduct themselves peacefully throughout the campaign period, on election day, and during the announcement of results. They encouraged active participation in voter education and called on all candidates to refrain from using hate speech or inciting violence.
“Regardless of our affiliations, Liberia is the only country we have,” the youth leaders emphasized. “As future leaders, we must not allow any violence during or after the election that could plunge our country into another conflict.”
They also committed to respecting the campaign schedule approved by the National Elections Commission (NEC) and denounced acts of intimidation, vandalism, and defacement of campaign materials belonging to other parties and candidates.
Speaking to FrontPage Africa, Benedict Tobey, Youth Chair of the MDR; Samuel Kartee, Youth Chair of UP in Nimba; Patience Tahn of the ALP; and Jeremiah Tozay, National Youth Chair of VOLT, all echoed their collective stance to combat the spread of misinformation and disinformation on social media, and pledged to give wide publicity to their peace message across various platforms.
The dialogue aimed to create a safe and inclusive space for youth across political divides to identify shared goals and promote issue-based campaigning. It also focused on building trust among the youth wings of political parties and fostering cross-party collaboration to ensure a credible electoral process.
As part of its broader efforts in Liberia, the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy (NIMD) is providing capacity building and technical support to political parties. The goal is to strengthen policies and practices that promote youth and gender inclusion, internal democracy, and meaningful participation in political decision-making.
The Liberia Electoral Support Project—implemented by UNDP in collaboration with UN Women and NIMD—is part of a broader initiative supported by the EU, Irish Aid, and the Swedish Embassy to promote inclusive and accountable democracy in Liberia.
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