MONROVIA: As the Liberia’s electoral body, “The National Elections Commission “(NEC) gears up for the conduct of the much anticipated voter’s registration exercise throughout the Country, the Former Managing Director of Liberia Water and Sewer Corporation, Mr. N. Hun-Bu Tulay, has urged the National Elections Commission (NEC) and civil society institutions to develop messages that will motivate the Liberian voters to turnout in their numbers to register for the 2023 presidential and legislative elections.
He said for democracy to work, Liberia needs at least 85 percent of the eligible voters to register and 51 percent of the registered voters to cast their voters for the Presidency.
According to Mr. Tulay, in the past three election cycles in Liberia, less than 35 percent of the registered voters determined who the president of Liberia became.
He made the statement when he served as a keynote speaker at the official launching ceremony of a new civil society organization, identified as “Your Vote Your Right (YOVOYORI) Inc.” The launching program was held on Friday January 20, 2023 at the Monrovia city Hall.
According to him, in 2005 elections, 1,352,730 Liberians registered to vote.
Of this number, 478,526 Liberians voted for the winner of the Liberian presidency with the percentage of 35.37 %.
In 2011 elections, 1,798,930 registered and 530, 0220 voted for the winner of the presidency with 29.43 %.
Also in the 2017 elections 2,100,000 Liberians registered, and out of this number, 732,185 voted for the winner of the Liberia’s presidency.
Mr. Tulay indicated that if Liberians really say that they do have a democratic form of government, this must be reflected in their votes. According to him, Liberia needs a robust voter’s awareness program.
The former LWSC Boss’ statement was contained in a speech delivered on his behalf by Mr. Francis Kangoma Adzanu, LWSC Block Mapping Director.
He said statistics on the average shows that 75 percent of the registered voters turned out to vote during the first round and less than 60 percent of the registered voters turned out in the second round.
According to him, this is not a good sign for the Liberian democracy. He stressed that a political party that has the most dedicated and committed members determine who become president of Liberia.
He said voter’s education may not have worked well in Liberia or maybe the messages are not convincing enough to motivate the voters to turn out in all elections.
He expressed the hope that there will be a higher percentage turnout in both first and second rounds in the coming 2023 Legislative and Presidential elections.
He pointed out that many Political Leaders who are unfortunate to acquire enough votes to qualify for the second round do not encourage their supporters to vote in the second round, something which he noted, it is not good for our emerging democracy.
He also observed that many do not participate in the second-round voting because of greed and envy so they neglect their civil duties.
He used the occasion to encourage the newly launched civil society group to consider this challenge seriously and work with various political leaders to encourage them to consider their civil responsibilities by encouraging their supporters to turnout in the second round.
He further asserted that in many parts of the country, the polling centers are more than one hour walk from the electorate, and this, he noted, has been a big challenge for the elderly voters.
The newly launched civil society organization needs to work with National Elections Commission to create additional polling centers to reduce the walking distances for the voters, Tulay suggested.
He disclosed that Liberia has an illiteracy rate of approximately 80 percent and many of the electorate do not read or understand English, therefore there it is a need to develop a strategy to reach out to this target group because they constitute almost 60 percent of the voting population.
“Liberians look up to you to provide a more innovative approach to voters education and awareness that will motivate voters to actively participate in all rounds of election in 2023” he said.
For his part, the President of the “Your Vote Your Right” (YOVOYORI) Inc., Mr. Moses C. Moore lauded the participants for gracing the occasion and stated the organization was formally established in the United States of America.
According to him, the organization is a non-for profit and also a non –governmental organization, neither a political party but envisioned to provide voters education and teaching of civil duties.
Mr. Moore noted that his organization which is duly registered under the laws of Liberia, stands never to be a campaign instrument for any group or political party.
He stressed that its principal goals are to interpret civil education to the ordinary people of Liberia for the growth and development of the country.
He said that the overall goal of their group is to maintain the culture of a democratic society in which the accomplishment of education training and knowledge will be the yardstick for national achievements, developments and growth as expressed in an atmosphere of peaceful co-existence with enriched culture and diversity. Written by T.R Dixon
