ABEDNEGO DAVIS
Africa-Press – Liberia. The recently concluded Biometric Voter Roll Exhibition organized by the National Election Commission (NEC) in preparation for the highly anticipated 2023 elections has been deemed a remarkable success by the Elections Coordinating Committee (ECC).
The ECC, which is Liberia’s largest election observation group, praised the NEC for its meticulous planning, flawless execution, and extensive reach during the voter roll exhibition, which aimed to engage and educate citizens across the country about the importance of verifying their voter information.
The nationwide exhibition, held June 12 -17, witnessed enthusiastic participation from both rural and urban communities, the ECC claimed in its post-exhibition analysis, which highlighted several key accomplishments.
“Overall, the exhibition process was peacefully conducted across the country, with no incidence of violence reported by ECC observers,” ECC Chairman Oscar Bloh said. “Generally, the exhibition exercise observed by the ECC shows that centers opened on time with all the necessary materials and forms available to conduct the process. ECC also observed a low number of security and party agents present at the Exhibition Centers.”
According to Bloh, the exhibition procedures were generally followed and that registered voters who appeared with their voter registration cards were permitted to inspect or check the provisional registration roll for any mistakes, missing information, or probable ineligible voters on the list.
Bloh added that during the exhibition period, 36 objections were filed because the persons were believed to be ineligible. He explained that an objection according to NEC procedure is filed only when the person is believed not to be a Liberian, is not 18 years old, is a felon (criminal), incompetent or deceased.
“The ECC also tracked objections filed based on the issue of residency. Three of these objections were raised and recorded by the NEC Officer because the persons were believed not to be residents of the district or the community,” Bloh noted. “Overall, the exhibition was peacefully conducted across the country, with no incidence of violence or disruption reported.”
However, the group is calling on the electoral body to highlight by county the number of objections filed during the exhibition and whether they were resolved or not and inform the public of the number of inclusions made following the exhibition process.
The ECC added that for NEC to maintain public confidence and trust in the electoral process, the commission should provide observer groups an electronic copy of the Provisional Registration Roll for independent analysis prior to publishing the Final Registration Roll.
“The NEC should advertise the duplication lists on websites, newspapers, and other media as well as report these findings to the Ministry of Justice for further investigation,” Bloh added.
Meanwhile, Bloh is calling on political parties should commit to monitoring future exhibition exercises and electoral processes.
According to Bloh, during the exhibition period, it was noticed that Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC), the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP), and the Unity Party (UP) had few agents stationed in exhibition centers.
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