“ECC Condemns The Posting Of Campaign Banner At The Legislature By Hon. Yehkeh Kolubah”
PHOTO: Rep. Yekeh Kolubha with his banner at the Capitol on Tuesday–ECC says this is wrong
Just a day after condemning the ruling CDC party of President George Weah for engaging in pre-campaigning activities over the weekend, the Elections Coordinating Committee (ECC) has issued similar condemnation against the opposition CPP lawmaker, Yekeh Kolubah for engaging in pre-campaigning at the Capitol Building on Tuesday, February 7, 2023.
In Chapter 5, Section 5.2 of the political parties and independent candidates guidelines and regulation pre-campaigning is, “Publishing or distributing campaign literature, posters, flyers, buttons, T-shirts, caps or other promotional items designed to support the election of any aspirant/candidate for elective public office,” among other things.
D of Section 4.2 of this same election regulation add: “An aspirant or candidate found to have violated any of the herein provision against premature activities shall be ineligible to contest the election to which the violation relates.”
The ECC in a press release condemns the posting of a campaign banner by Montserrado District Six Representative Yekeh Kolubah displaying the picture of Presidential aspirant Joseph Boakai at the Capitol Building on February 7, 2023, while at the same time declaring the opening of campaign. Due to the critical nature of the 2023 elections, ECC discourages such acts of violations or forms of mockery of the Liberia democratic process to maintain the sanity of our electoral system.
The ECC also continues to receive reports from its county and district monitors that aspirants from the Unity Party (UP), Alternative National Congress (ANC), and People Unification Party (PUP) are involved in the printing and posting of flyers, banners, or stickers which depict the act of pre-campaigning under the NEC regulations.
ECC believes these instances of violation are happening due to the NEC’s failure to enforce its Regulations during previous ones. These trends in the bridge of the Campaign Regulations are worrisome as this may set the basis for violations of other regulations of the 2023 electoral legal framework.
ECC, therefore, calls on the NEC to levy the stipulated fines and penalties outlined in the regulations for violations of any component of the electoral legal framework to preserve the integrity of the process. In addition, all parties and aspirants are encouraged to desist from every form of pre-campaign activity as a respect for the rule of law guarding these elections.