By Our Staff Writer
MONROVIA: The race to the much-heralded 2023 Presidential and Legislation elections in Liberia appears blink and wanting due to the apparent constitutional missteps, coupled with what one keen observer referred to as “technical delays and lack of leadership capacity to conduct these elections and other pre-electioneering activities.”
The 2023 elections continue to be a critical issue of concern to well-meaning Liberians as well as international stakeholders as it relates to visible delays in the implementation of some, if not most, of the processes leading to polling day, on October 10, 2023.
Keen political observers are of the view that these visible bureaucratic and other bottlenecks are slowly gravitating the Liberian nation towards a possible constitutional crisis, if appropriate corrective measures are not instituted by relevant stakeholders.
At present, the National Elections Commission (NEC), is yet to conclude on the procurement process that is cardinal in getting elections related gargets including Biometric Voters’ registration equipment.
NATIONAL POPULATION CENSUS
Despite incessant pleads by citizens and some of Liberia’s major development partners for the crucial Presidential and Legislative elections slated for 2023 to be free, fair, transparent and credible, and for the exercise to be free of violence, intimidation, and other acts of illegality, there appear to be emerging signs which, by all accounts, are creating apprehension, misgiving, and tension in many quarters of the country.
Additionally, many citizens are increasingly becoming to worry that the electoral processes for the 2023 polls leave much to be desired, thus depicting an atmosphere of uncertainty.
Many processes of the elections are far behind schedule in keeping with the electoral laws of the land and the 1986 Constitution of Liberia.
The brouhaha (misunderstanding or confusion) that is fast brewing relative to the brazen delay in the conduct of the crucial National Population and Housing Census is a classic case in point.
Some political commentators are of the opinion that the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) led administration of President George Manneh Weah seems to be in violation of several provisions of the 1986 Constitution of Liberia as regards the road leading to the 2023 polls.
The 1986 Constitution is the organic law of the country, which among several other things, called for the conduct of National Population and Housing Census every ten (10) years.
In the 1986 Constitution of Liberia, Article 80 (c, d and e) states that: “Every Liberian citizen shall have the right to be registered in a constituency, and to vote in public elections only in the constituency where registered, either in person or by absentee ballot; provided that such citizen shall have the right to change his voting constituency as may be prescribed by the Legislature.”
Article 80 (d) of the Constitution also indicates that “Each constituency shall have an approximately equal population of 20,000, or such number of citizens as the Legislature shall prescribe in keeping with population growth and movement as revealed by a national census; provided that the total number of electoral constituencies in the Republic shall not exceed one hundred.”
Article 80 (e) of the same Liberian Constitution states that “Immediately following a national census and before the next election, the Elections Commission shall reapportion the constituencies in accordance with the new population figures so that every constituency shall have as close to the same population as possible; provided, however, that a constituency must be solely within a county.”
However, observers and commentators are of the belief that the nation’s office responsible to conduct census, styled: “Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo-Information Services (LISGIS)” has postponed the crucial exercise for the fourth time now, with the support of the current Legislature.
The National Population and Housing Census was rescheduled in 2018 due to lack of funding; 2019, due COVID-19; 2020, due to Special Senatorial Elections; and National Referendum which was aimed at either changing or maintaining several constitutional provisions for elected state officials.
In 2021, reports of unbridle corruption emerged against key top officials of LISGIS and, subsequently, the conduct of the census was postponed again to early 2022 and later to October 24, 2022.
Few days into the formal kick-off of the much-awaited Census, a dramatic scheme ensued with some individuals, claiming to be LISGIS recruited numerators accusing the agency of involvement in unmerited selection of numerators placed on its final list.
The aggrieved numerators accused the entity of foul-play by replacing them with other people, who they believed, were not part of the recruitment exercise, although there are confirmed reports that some of the non-selected applicants made a successful pass in the test which was administered to them.
Following protests by hundreds, if not thousands of applicants in some LISGIS designated centers, the Government of Liberia, through the House of Representatives, in collaboration with LISGIS, and donor have resolved to postpone the conduct of the National Census to additional fifteen (15) days as of the October 24, 2022.
This means, the National census will now kick-off on November 22, 2022, instead of October 14, 2022.
NATIONAL ELECTIONS COMMISSION IN 2023
Following series of consultations aimed at protecting the integrity and credibility of the 2023 crucial elections, major stakeholders including Liberian government expressed their desire for the polls to be held in a free, fair, transparent and credible manner, and as such, want citizens to vote electronically.
Major development partners such as the United States, European Union, ECOWAS and civil society groups had earlier agreed for the government of Liberia to use Biometric Voters registration following the 2020 Special Senatorial Elections that was reportedly marred by claims of electoral irregularities, many of which landed the accusers and declared winners to the Supreme Court for adjudication of said claims of irregularities.
This paper has gathered that up to press time yesterday, the National Elections Commission (NEC) and the state-owned Public Procurement and Concessions Commission (PPCC) have not reached a common ground as regards which company had been endorsed by both PPCC and NEC for the procurement contract to obtain the Biometric equipment for the pending 2023 elections.
The PPCC has told NEC that its declared bid winner, EKEMP, is unable to perform the task of operating Biometric Voters’ Registration in rural Liberia where electricity, access to internet, and bad road, among others, are major challenges faced by electoral workers.
Interestingly, however, NEC remains firmed on its choice, insisting that EKEMP has the expertise to do the job.
The PPCC, for the second time, rejected NEC’s request for approval to award EKEMP/Palm Insurance the contract to supply Biometric Voter Registration equipment, software, and materials for the 2023 presidential and legislative elections.
The PPCC says no to NEC’s request to award EKEMP and partners from review of the video of the re-demonstration exercise during which it was observed that EKEMP’s equipment were malfunctioning.
PPCC further observed that such equipment was intended to print the biometric ID cards on the spot as required but it failed to work effectively within the time NEC allotted.
POLITICAL PARTIES/POLITICIANS
Some leading opposition politicians in the country have also expressed serious concerns over what they characterized as “missteps,” towards the 2023 polls some of which, according to the political leaders, are in gross violation of the Constitution of Liberia.
Former ruling Unity Party (UP), of Ambassador Joseph Nyuma Boakai has expressed lack of explicit confidence in the NEC, headed by Madam Davidetta Browne-Lansanah.
Boakai insists that the current team at the NEC is not credible and as such, it should be replaced with credible Liberians who are prepared to do a better job.
Recently, Liberty Party’s Political leader, Senator Nyonblee Karngar-Lawrence, accused NEC’s Chair, Madam Davidetta Browne-Lansanah, of interfering in Liberty Party’s internal leadership crisis.
Senator Karngar-Lawrence further accused the NEC boss of engaging in ‘Conflict-of-Interest,’ because, according the LP Leader, Madam Browne-Lansanah is a friend to LP’s Chairman, Musa Hassan Bility.
According Senator Karngar-Lawrence, the LP does not trust the Davidetta Browne-Lansanah NEC; and the Party’s leadership has resolved not to work with the Commission.
Liberty Party is the second biggest opposition political party in Liberia, but the Party is currently embroiled in a prolonged internal conflict which started in 2021, occasioned by alleged alternation of some provisions of its constitution by Chairman Musa Bility, and some unidentified LP executives.
Since then, the Party remains divided between two factions, with one faction headed by Chairman Bility and the other, by her, Senator Karnga-Lawrence.
The Grand Bassa County Senator said, NEC’s Chairperson, Madam Davidetta Browne-Lansanah, has also been compromised and as such, the commission has lost its independence, credibility and integrity.
She spoke recently when she granted an exclusive podcast interview to The Issues Room, a Liberian owned social media platform based in the United States of America (USA).
The LP Political Leader declared that “The NEC is an integrity institution; and its mandate is to ensure that elections conducted in Liberia are free, fair, transparent, and peaceful in upholding the fledgling Liberian democracy.”
However, she said the Davidetta Browne-Lansanah led Commission has fallen short in meeting these expectations.
She said Liberia’s next Presidential and Legislative elections are scheduled for 2023; and the NEC is charged with the responsibility of conducting the elections, “but when you, at this point, already have an election commission that is showing that it is compromised, that’s worrisome.”
Touching on the LP’s internal crisis, the Grand Bassa County Senator said the crisis in the Liberty Party is being politicized; and she blamed the Chairperson and the NEC for exacerbating the conflict.
The Senator said the conflict remains unresolved because of the failure of the NEC to respect the rulings from the Supreme Court; and to adhere to its own electoral laws and policies in dealing with the political party crises.
She accused Mrs. Browne-Lansanah of having a dual relationship with the Chairman of Liberty Party, Musa Hassan Bility.
She recalled that in December of 2021 when the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) was prosecuting the Chairperson for acts of malfeasance at the Commission, it was Mr. Bility, who helped her in securing a bond. “That’s conflict of interest,” the LP Political Leader frowned.
Then, the NEC Chairperson was charged along with other officials of NEC and forwarded to court for prosecution. She was formally indicted on multiple criminal charges, including conflict of interest.
It was after she admitted to presiding over NEC’s bidding process that was said to have been fraudulently awarded a contract to a Liberian business, Tuma Enterprise Incorporated.
The monetary value of the contract is more than US$182,000; and the NEC Chair reportedly had a family tie to one of the owners of said company. However, the NEC Boss, at the time, categorically denied any wrongdoing and subsequently challenged her accusers.
According to the LACC, Chairperson Browne-Lansanah and the company’s Vice President for Operations, David Browne, are paternal half-siblings while Mr. Arnold Badio, owner, and incorporator of the company, is Mrs. Browne’s maternal half-brother.
Also, she was accused of violating Section 1.3.6 of the National Code of Conduct, which speaks against conflict of interest. However, in April of this year, the Judge of Criminal Court “C” at the Temple of Justice dismissed the criminal charges levied against the NEC Chair but LACC has expressed dissatisfaction over judgment, thereby taking flight to the Supreme Court of Liberia.
Also, the political leader of the Alternative National Congress (ANC), Alexander Benedict Cummings says he is of the view that holding the 2023 Elections without the conduct of the population census that should have been held since 2018 will put the entire elections in danger, thus rendering the incumbent government, headed by President Weah, illegal to conduct the 2023 Presidential and Legislative Elections.
In the face of the above mentioned provisions of the Liberian Constitution, the ANC political leader pointed out that any effort for the CDC-led government, under the presidency of former global soccer icon, George Weah, not to carry out the conduct of the national population census ahead of the 2023 Presidential and Legislative Elections would be unlawful and tantamount to an egregious violation of the 1986 Constitution of Liberia.
“If we don’t conduct census, the House of Representatives would be unconstitutional. If the House is unconstitutional, the Legislature would be unconstitutional. If the Legislature is unconstitutional, the government would be unconstitutional. We must conduct the census, and we must do it on time,” Mr. Cummings cautioned the nation recently.
THE DEBACLE
In as much as Liberians and partners are anxious for the conduct of the 2023 elections due to its Constitutional importance, missteps, political delay tactics, coupled with unresolved political tensions in leading opposition blocs as well within the governing Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC), which comprises the former ruling National Patriotic Party of former President Charles Taylor; Congress for Democratic Change (CDC, of incumbent President George Weah; and the Liberia People Democratic Party of former House Speaker, J. Alex Tyler; could put the entire 2023 elections in danger, if not appropriately handled, and the situation could have far-reaching consequences on Liberia’s peace and stability, analysts say .
The corruption allegations that are hanging over the two integrity institutions-NEC and LISGIS, which are believed to be forerunners of the 2023 elections make the situation troubling and worrisome, observers added.
Another factor that, analysts say is fast endangering the elections is the issue of the establishment of War and Economic Crimes Court for Liberia with some key global partners stressing the importance of setting up the court and prosecuting suspected war criminals as a guarantee to sustaining Liberia’s hard-won peace, democracy and stability.
Importantly too, the official launch of Civic Voter Education for Voter Registration slated for October 7, 2022, did not go on as indicated by the Elections Commission’s timetable for the 2023 elections.
Other activities such as the validation of administrative units & amalgamated areas, listing of boundaries which were set to begin from September 8 and end on December 22, 2022, are still pending with no visible pathway for their actualization.
So far, and to the best of public knowledge, no media institution, for the record, has ever received accreditation by NEC for the voter registration process (VR), although the NEC, via its calendar of events, set October 5 to December 2 as a time allotted to grant political parties agents and observers to monitor the VR process.
Among others, these lapses have been acknowledged by the National Elections Commission chairperson, Madam Browne-Lansanah.
She told news men that there will be gradual changes in the election timetable given the ongoing quagmire involving PPCC and NEC bordering on the EKEMP selection saga.
According to 2023 electoral timetable, the NEC should have launched the official civil voter education for voter registration since October 2022 but it seems everything is on hold until the Biometric Voters’ equipment impasse is resolved with PPCC.
All of these visible delays and postponements come at the time the National Population and Housing census are yet to be conducted, although the 2023 polls fast approach, without constituency demarcation.
Other keen observers and critics believe that the Weah administration is backing the glaring violations of the Liberian constitution by permitting the “back-and-forth changes” relative to the conduct of the census.
The first four periods that census were conducted in Liberia separately include 1962, 1974, 1984 and 2008, accounting for the population of 1.1 million; 1.5m; 2.1; and to 3.5 million respectively.
The population and housing Census which is a function of demographic, social and economic statistics in Liberia has now been pushed to November 22, 2022, instead of October 24 in line with the latest Resolution from the House of Representatives.
Independent observers who spoke to this paper on condition of anonymity for security reasons indicated that the electoral process, coupled with the prolonged delay in the conduct of the CENSUS leaves room for uncertainty over the democratic transition of the country.
“From all indication, I think we are heading for establishment of an interim government. Look at the political governance in our country, there are signals that remind us of interim government,” said John Sateh Nagbe, a student of political science and history at the University of Liberia.
Madam Theresa James Barclay, a student of marketing, in a recent social media post opined that when the census are not conducted before the elections, Liberia risks running in the political conflict which may border on the illegitimacy of the incumbent administration, headed by President George Weah.
Others in the corridor of decision-making in government who begged not to be named for job security acknowledged that the glaring violations of the constitution, coupled with NEC’s purported disrespect in upholding its own timetable are troubling signs.
This debate about whether Liberia’s problems are principally those of state legitimacy or governance lie in the implications of a “failed state,” another commentator argues.
Weak governance undermines the principle of sovereignty. “Weak …refers to state strength …meaning a lack of institutional capacity to implement and enforce policies, often driven by an underlying lack of legitimacy of the political system as a whole,” added Mary Nyenoh Benson, at a local intellectual center recently.
Other critical thinkers have already begun expressing fear that if the elections are conducted on the same 2017 controversial data of NEC Voters Registration, it may lead to a possible electoral conflict.
They said the 2017 Final Voters’ registration data is marred with flows and allegedly influenced by NEC previous data analysts, some of whom, to date, remain in the system.
For instead, NEC allegedly dispatched 500 ballot papers to a polling center in Southeast Liberia with less than 50 registered voters, just to name a few.
But if estimation done by some international researchers that Liberia’s current population is 5.3 million is apportioned by NEC without National Census, it could create avenue for votes manipulations at the NEC data center.
With all these problems that seem to be severely impacting the 2023 elections, coupled with current high cost of living, the fate of designated public officials on US sanction are tantamount to creating the possibility of establishing an interim government in Liberia, if the tenure of the current regime expired.
