{"id":23970,"date":"2022-09-29T12:17:00","date_gmt":"2022-09-29T12:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/lpp-opposes-necs-decision-on-biometric-election"},"modified":"2022-09-29T12:17:00","modified_gmt":"2022-09-29T12:17:00","slug":"lpp-opposes-necs-decision-on-biometric-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/lpp-opposes-necs-decision-on-biometric-election","title":{"rendered":"LPP Opposes NEC\u2019s Decision on Biometric Election"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Liberia. <\/strong><\/span>The Liberian People\u2019s Party (LPP) has sharply criticized the decision of the National Elections Commission to use a biometric system for next year’s general elections, saying the move is untimely.<\/p>\n

In a letter to the NEC, on September 22, the LPP, which is contesting the 2023 election with Cllr. Tiawan S. Gongloe as its candidate, claimed that the electoral body needs to reverse its decision on the use of the biometric system due to lack of time and limited public information about the technology.<\/p>\n

The LPP \u2014 as one of the country\u2019s oldest surviving mainstream political parties \u2014 claims that the use of a biometric voting system is a risky gamble that Liberian cannot afford to take in 2023, regardless of its benefits in ensuring transparency in elections.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe LPP is of the view that in order to introduce a biometric system in our electoral process, adequate preparations have to be made, which entail the training of the NEC technicians and a massive awareness campaign among the citizenry about this new technology,\u201d said LPP\u2019s Vice Chairperson for administration, George B. Caine, to the NEC.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the above done, the NEC would then try the new system as a pilot in a by-election to build confidence in the system. Liberians cannot afford to take a gamble with the 2023 elections because the stakes could never be higher,\u201d Caine added. “Against that backdrop, the LPP stands opposed to the use of a biometric system for the 2023 presidential and legislative elections due to the lack of adequate preparation on the part of the NEC.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 2023 presidential and legislative elections cannot and should not be a pilot project. We also know that elections are held only in a day\u2019s time.\u201d<\/p>\n

The party letter comes as the electoral body announced early this month the use of a biometric voting system to prevent electoral fraud and chaos, which has marred previous elections. The NEC has for years been under pressure to dash its optical manual registration (OMR) system. The OMR system, for many, does not improve the accountability and transparency of electoral processes and is usually tainted by controversy and mistrust.<\/p>\n

The biometric system however is designed to meet complex electoral challenges \u2014 arrest multiple registrations by a single voter and multiple voting, while supporting other mechanisms to avoid voter fraud and manipulation.<\/p>\n

The Elections Coordinating Committee (ECC) has also warned that the NEC\u2019s decision to prevent electoral fraud is not a silver bullet, taking into consideration unexpected hitches the system can encounter at any point in time. The ECC, which is Liberia\u2019s largest domestic election observation network, on Sept. 6, informed the public that the electoral body\u2019s transition to a biometric system is not without risks to the country\u2019s electoral system.<\/p>\n

However, the ECC added that the technology, if it is set up properly and in a timely manner, can add value to the quality of the electoral process, thereby minimizing double registration, automatic de-duplication fraud, and manipulation of the voter roll.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the LPP has reminded the NEC that the House of Representatives Committee on Elections and Inauguration also remains unconvinced that Liberia is ready for the use of biometric voting technology.<\/p>\n

The LPP also reminded the NEC to use the Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo Information Services (LISGIS) upcoming Census result to delegate electoral constituencies, so that the 2023 Elections may be conducted on the basis of constituency, not electoral districts.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis will be adhering to the Constitution of Liberia. The LPP is also aware of the concerns expressed by the Public Procurement and Concession Commission (PPCC) which invariably casts some doubt on NEC’s preferred company, EKEMP. The LPP is cognizant of the fact that the OMR system of voter registration is obsolete, and the need to introduce the Biometric as an alternative cannot be over emphasized.<\/p>\n

Founded in 1983, the LPP was an electoral wing of the Movement for Justice in Africa (MOJA), a leftist pan-African group founded by some of the historic figures that launched the campaign for multiparty democracy in Liberia; amongst them, Dr. Togba-Nah Tipoteh and the late Dr. Amos Claudius Sawyer.<\/p>\n

Sawyer served as President of the Interim Government of National Unity (IGNU) from 1990\u201394 and Gongloe, at the time, served as his prote\u0301ge\u0301 and special assistant. Dr. Tipoteh ran on the ticket of the LPP in the elections held on 19 July 1997, accumulating just 1.61% of the vote.<\/p>\n

Since the 1997 election, the LPP has been on the periphery of the Liberian political landscape, joining ranks with the United People\u2019s Party (UPP) in the 2005 general elections and participating as part of the Alliance for Peace and Democracy (APD), supporting Dr. Togba-Nah Tipoteh for president.<\/p>\n

It resurfaced in 2011, this time as part of the National Democratic Coalition, NDC) backing Dew Mayson for president. In the same elections, its former presidential candidate and political leader, Tipoteh, left and ran on the ticket of the Freedom Alliance Party of Liberia (FAPL).<\/p>\n

And now, the party has offered Gongloe, who is not a traditional politician but more of a human rights activist \u2014 championing respect for the rule of law, while selling his narrative as a comforting national healer, capable of restoring a government that respects people\u2019s rights and the rule of law.<\/p>\n

Before taking the helm as the standard bearer of the LPP, Gongloe had focused his 2023 presidential campaign as an apostle of personal decency and as a transitional figure who would take on some of Liberia\u2019s worst crises \u2014 not just the issues of poverty, but corruption, which he has long argued is the root cause for the country\u2019s failure and its people\u2019s poor state.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Liberia<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Liberia. The Liberian People\u2019s Party (LPP) has sharply criticized the decision of the National Elections Commission to use a biometric system for next year’s general elections, saying the move is untimely. In a letter to the NEC, on September 22, the LPP, which is contesting the 2023 election with Cllr. Tiawan S. Gongloe […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":23969,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7,8,12],"tags":[233,237,234],"class_list":["post-23970","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-head-lines","category-homepage-english","category-policy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-liberia","tag-liberia"],"yoast_head":"\nLPP Opposes NEC\u2019s Decision on Biometric Election - Liberia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/lpp-opposes-necs-decision-on-biometric-election\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"LPP Opposes NEC\u2019s Decision on Biometric Election\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Africa-Press – Liberia. The Liberian People\u2019s Party (LPP) has sharply criticized the decision of the National Elections Commission to use a biometric system for next year’s general elections, saying the move is untimely. In a letter to the NEC, on September 22, the LPP, which is contesting the 2023 election with Cllr. Tiawan S. Gongloe […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/lpp-opposes-necs-decision-on-biometric-election\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Liberia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-09-29T12:17:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/lpp-opposes-necs-decision-on-biometric-election#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/lpp-opposes-necs-decision-on-biometric-election\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"LPP Opposes NEC\u2019s Decision on Biometric Election\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-09-29T12:17:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/lpp-opposes-necs-decision-on-biometric-election\"},\"wordCount\":957,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/lpp-opposes-necs-decision-on-biometric-election#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2022\/09\/Hazrati1664441230.777343.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Liberia\",\"Liberia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"head lines\",\"homepage-english\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/lpp-opposes-necs-decision-on-biometric-election#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/lpp-opposes-necs-decision-on-biometric-election\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/lpp-opposes-necs-decision-on-biometric-election\",\"name\":\"LPP Opposes NEC\u2019s Decision on Biometric Election - Liberia\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/lpp-opposes-necs-decision-on-biometric-election#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/lpp-opposes-necs-decision-on-biometric-election#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2022\/09\/Hazrati1664441230.777343.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-09-29T12:17:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/lpp-opposes-necs-decision-on-biometric-election#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/lpp-opposes-necs-decision-on-biometric-election\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/lpp-opposes-necs-decision-on-biometric-election#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2022\/09\/Hazrati1664441230.777343.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2022\/09\/Hazrati1664441230.777343.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630,\"caption\":\"LPP Opposes NEC\u2019s Decision on Biometric Election\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/lpp-opposes-necs-decision-on-biometric-election#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"LPP Opposes NEC\u2019s Decision on Biometric Election\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/\",\"name\":\"Liberia\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"cfeditoren\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"LPP Opposes NEC\u2019s Decision on Biometric Election - Liberia","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/lpp-opposes-necs-decision-on-biometric-election","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"LPP Opposes NEC\u2019s Decision on Biometric Election","og_description":"Africa-Press – Liberia. The Liberian People\u2019s Party (LPP) has sharply criticized the decision of the National Elections Commission to use a biometric system for next year’s general elections, saying the move is untimely. In a letter to the NEC, on September 22, the LPP, which is contesting the 2023 election with Cllr. Tiawan S. Gongloe […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/lpp-opposes-necs-decision-on-biometric-election","og_site_name":"Liberia","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa","article_published_time":"2022-09-29T12:17:00+00:00","author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/lpp-opposes-necs-decision-on-biometric-election#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/lpp-opposes-necs-decision-on-biometric-election"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"LPP Opposes NEC\u2019s Decision on Biometric Election","datePublished":"2022-09-29T12:17:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/lpp-opposes-necs-decision-on-biometric-election"},"wordCount":957,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/lpp-opposes-necs-decision-on-biometric-election#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2022\/09\/Hazrati1664441230.777343.jpg","keywords":["Africa Press","Africa Press-Liberia","Liberia"],"articleSection":["all news","head lines","homepage-english","policy"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/lpp-opposes-necs-decision-on-biometric-election#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/lpp-opposes-necs-decision-on-biometric-election","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/lpp-opposes-necs-decision-on-biometric-election","name":"LPP Opposes NEC\u2019s Decision on Biometric Election - Liberia","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/lpp-opposes-necs-decision-on-biometric-election#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/lpp-opposes-necs-decision-on-biometric-election#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2022\/09\/Hazrati1664441230.777343.jpg","datePublished":"2022-09-29T12:17:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/lpp-opposes-necs-decision-on-biometric-election#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/lpp-opposes-necs-decision-on-biometric-election"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/lpp-opposes-necs-decision-on-biometric-election#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2022\/09\/Hazrati1664441230.777343.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2022\/09\/Hazrati1664441230.777343.jpg","width":1200,"height":630,"caption":"LPP Opposes NEC\u2019s Decision on Biometric Election"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/lpp-opposes-necs-decision-on-biometric-election#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"LPP Opposes NEC\u2019s Decision on Biometric Election"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/","name":"Liberia","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"cfeditoren"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23970","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23970"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23970\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23969"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}