Africa-Press – Liberia. Democracy International (DI), in partnership with the National Elections Commission (NEC) and USAID will today award three essay contest winners.
Nearly forty poll workers from all over the nation took part in the essay competition, according to a press release from Democracy International. But the national education essay competition’s winners were Marroline Nohn Dangan from Nimba County, Michael T. Yennego from Montserrado County, and Othello B. Seekie from Grand Bassa County.
The National Elections Commission (NEC) and Democracy International (DI) will collaborate to hold the award ceremonies today, October 13, according to the press release. The winners are expected to receive their awards from the US Ambassador Michael A. McCarthy, the USAID Mission Director Jim Wright, and the NEC Chairperson Davidetta Browne Lansanah at the Mission Director’s Residence in Monrovia.
A selection committee of seven members from USAID, NEC, and Democracy International (DI) selected these three (3) essays from among over thirty-nine entries. The selection of the three essays was based on their originality in portraying the experiences of poll workers across different counties going through whenever there are elections.
Upon the receipt of their respective awards, the three winners will, on October 14, share their motivations on a live-in-studio radio show (Prime FM Morning Drive from 9 am to 10 am) to encourage more Liberians to serve as poll workers when elections are held in 2023 and beyond.
“Democracy International (DI) and the National Elections Commission (NEC) launched the contest in March 2022 to highlight the essential work of poll workers in Liberia. Under the theme, “Poll Worker: My Duty, My Country, My Future,” the contest invited poll workers to write about their personal motivations for civic duty, the life-changing moments of working at the polls, and how their contributions as poll workers build sustainable peace and democracy,” the release contained.
The essay contest was opened to all NEC poll workers who served in the December 8, 2020 Special Senatorial Election in all counties and November 16, 2021 By-Elections in Bomi, Bong, Grand Gedeh, and Nimba Counties.
Election and Democracy Activity (EDA)’s Chief of Party, Stephanie Lynn commented: “As one of these writers said, ‘poll workers should be recognized as national heroes and heroines.’ These poll workers and those of you who will volunteer to do this task in 2023 are a vital part of making Liberia’s elections and democracy work.”
EDA, made possible by the generous support of the American people through USAID, is a five-year project that seeks to work with the National Elections Commission (NEC), Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), and the Government of Liberia (GOL) in general to cultivate accountable elected representatives who govern in the interest of their constituents by building a diverse and an inclusive cadre of representative leaders and active citizens who demand accountability.
Varney G. Karneh, the civic education program lead, said Democracy International implements EDA through three interrelated objectives, which include increasing leadership of marginalized groups in political processes, improving civic knowledge and sense of civic duty, and advancing the self-reliance of the NEC and civil society organizations to independently manage and observe all stages of the electoral cycle.
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