If
you are an avid follower of AEP on any of our social media platforms or a consumer of news across various news portals
then, you may have heard that Liberia held its presidential and legislative
elections on Tuesday, October 10, 2023. This general elections is geared towards
electing a president to steer the affairs of Liberia for the next 6 years.
As
expected in every election, followers and the general public are always on the
edge hoping that the electoral body will expediate action in announcing the
results to reduce tensions and anxiety. However, this is unlikely to happen in
Liberia. The National
Elections Commission (NEC) has hinted that
the timely release of final results is uncertain due to unforeseen challenges.
As
at mid day 13th October, only about 7 percent of polling centres had
their results published by NEC.
In
this article, AEP delves into some of the issues accounting for the slow pace
of NEC in releasing presidential election results.
Electoral laws
A
key factor contributing to the delay in the declaration of the results is the
electoral laws of Liberia. The electoral laws of the West African country give
the election management body ample time to process and declare results of the
elections after voting takes place.
According
to the laws,
final results must be declared within 15 days after the voting day. Provisional
results, based on polling station data, are to be published within 72 hours of
polls closing. Following this, the NEC has 15 days to verify the results,
address discrepancies, and conduct recounts if necessary before officially
declaring the election's outcome. This 15-day period is crucial to ensure a
comprehensive verification process that upholds the fairness and integrity of
the elections.
Logistical Challenges
Despite
huge investment of about $50 million put in this year’s election, the election
is frought with many logistical challenges. A day after the election, NEC announced
that some people were yet to vote.
The
election management body blamed the situation on bad roads, floods and damage
to electoral materials and blocked access to some electoral districts caused by
heavy raining. “The damaged materials will be replaced for the conduct of
the elections in the affected areas within a week's time,” Davidetta Browne-Lansanah, NEC Chairperson
said at a press briefing.
The
delays were largely witnessed in the south eastern counties of Sinoe and River
Cess with voter populations of 55,579 and 39,941 respectively.
According
to NEC in its latest press briefing on Thursday October 12 2023, some of these
challenges have been resolved while others are being resolved.
Meanwhile,
NEC is expected to provide updates on the situation and publish some additional
tallied results on Friday evening October 13 2023.
For
now, Liberians and other stakeholders sit on tenterhooks in anticipation that
the electoral body will declare the election results as promised within the 15
days window.
AEP
Follow the African Elections Project on Twitter and Facebook @Africanelection for updates n elections across Africa.
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