PHOTO: L-R Bishop Kortu Brown, NEC HQ
The Liberia Council of Churches (LCC) is proposing a postponement to the holding the pending national referendum scheduled alongside the Special Senatorial Elections on December 8, 2020.
It said its recommendation is based on the fact that there has been limited civic/voter’s education on the propositions for the referendum.
Besides, the LCC said in a statement that it considers the time allotted to do the sensitization across the 15 political subdivisions of the country inadequate, the LCC said in a statement issued in Monrovia on Tuesday, November 10, 2020 and signed by its President Bishop Kortu Brown.
“Therefore, the Referendum should be rescheduled to a later date to allow for proper planning, community awareness/sensitization and participation, amongst others. The Liberian people must own this process through their fullest participation,” the statement read.
If all goes ahead as planned by the National Elections Commission (NEC), eligible Liberian voters will be going to the polls to vote in addition to electing 15 news senators, on whether or not to accept dual citizenship, reduce the tenure of the presidency from six to five years and senators from nine to seven, or to allow them stand as they are.
They will also be voting on changing the election date from October to November or to vote to remain October.
“As it therefore relates to the aforementioned, the Liberia Council of Churches working in ecumenical collaboration with other church and para-church organizations herewith propose that the Senatorial Election take place as planned on December 8, 2020 with all the safeguards taken to ensure the exercise is free, fair and inclusive”, the LCC said.
They are further proposing that the National Referendum be rescheduled before the 2023 Presidential and Legislative elections thus “allowing adequate preparations, sensitizing and educating the public by the NEC, the GOL, Civic society, and other national stakeholders including the religious community, on the Referendum. As it stands, the Liberia Council of Churches engagement with its membership across the country shows that civic/voters’ education on the Referendum scheduled for December 8, 2020, is limited and this needs to be reversed”.
The statement said the proposal is in good faith and intended to sustain peace, security, the rule of law and strengthening participatory democracy and good governance in Liberia.
They also used the occasion to commend NEC, the government, ECOWAS, the United Nations and the rest of the International Community represented here in Liberia for steps being taken to clean up the Voters’ Registration Roll (VRR) and ensuring that the December 8 Senatorial poll is free, fair and inclusive.
“This is critical to sustaining a peaceful and stable society and uniting the country for its forward movement. We encourage all Political parties and actors to lend their fullest support to the process and look forward to the cleaning up exercise being brought to a logical and satisfactory conclusion soon.”
The team of ECOWAS and the UNDP data analysts cleaning up the VRR came to Liberia at the request of President Weah to the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Jean-Claude Kassi Brou.