Many Calling For Level Playing Field: Peaceful, Free, Fair And Transparent Polls
NEWS ANALYSIS by Frank Sainworla, Jr., fsainworla@yahoo.com
With just over 60 days to presidential and legislative elections in Liberia, the campaign period has officially kicked off this weekend, although political parties and politicians have been openly violating pre-campaign law with impunity prior to the official date stipulated in the election law.
“Now, the election laws are there but who will enforce this, it is the elections commission. For example, there are no and there should not be pre-campaigning except where NEC declare campaign opened. And the elections commission is sitting supinely and not saying anything.”-Cllr. Dempster Brown, head of INCHR
All parties—both the ruling CDC and opposition parties—have committed a range of pre-campaigning violations amounting to soliciting for support for their candidates at the ballot box without being penalized, but many here say it is now “water under the bridge”. The pre-campaign activities were not just played out on the streets with banners, posters but took to the airwaves and on the Social Media with talk, jingles and music that bordered on campaigning before campaigning.
“The Campaign period for the 2023 General Elections shall be from August 4, 2023, to October 8, 2023. There shall be no campaign activity (ies) outside the campaign period,” says the National Elections Commission in its 2023 Campaign Guidelines published on the NEC’s website.
In sixty days’ time, over 2.471 million Liberian registered voters to be having to choose from a list of some 20 presidential candidates including incumbent President George Manneh Weah, the former international football icon who won the last election back in 2017.
According to NEC, there is a total of 46 registered political parties, more than half of which are not fielding presidential candidates but many of which will be fielding legislative candidates who will be chasing all the 76 seats in the House of Representatives and half of the 30-member Senate.
There will be 2,080 Voting Precinct with 5, 890 Polling places 5, 890 in the upcoming elections which will see more tensions than the last one held in October 2017 given the fact that then incumbent, former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was not in the race.
But this time, incumbent President Weah and his “revolutionary” Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) are frantically campaigning for a “one-round victory”, whereas many of the contenders in the opposition are rally their supporters to make the footballing President “one-term president”.
Need for a level playing
Whichever way it goes on October 10, well-meaning Liberians and international partners have been calling for a violence-free elections, with all parties and independent candidates playing by the rules of the political game—respect for the election laws/regulations to ensure a level playing field.
That’s why flagrant violations of pre-campaigning law and the law against voter trucking during the Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) raised eyebrows.
Liberia has a history of making good laws and policies but has proven over the years to be very weak on enforcement.
The election law makes it an offense for political parties and politicians to engage in pre-campaigning, something that has been done with impunity in the run up to the October 10, 2023 general elections.
It is well known that ahead of the official campaign period, parties and politicians on all sides have been engaged in various pre-campaigning activities, despite repeated warnings from NEC and public outcry. NEC itself confirmed that there were violations, yet the warning was never heeded and also no action was taken across the country.
Earlier this year, the Chairman of the Independent National Commission on Human Rights, Cllr. Dempster Brown even scolded the national election body, NEC for failing to enforce the election laws on pre-campaigning and other violations.
“The elections commission has a greater role to play in bringing about peace and stability in this country. Now, the election laws are there but who will enforce this, it is the elections commission. For example, there are no and there should not be pre-campaigning except where NEC declare campaign opened. And the elections commission is sitting supinely and not saying anything. This will bring about serious problem in the future. And so, we are calling on the elections commission to be very pragmatic in dealing with the situation in this country. The sustainability of peace is associated with the respect for the rule of law. And when there is no rule of law, there is violence. And therefore it (NEC) is the only institution that will enforce the elections law…,” said the INCHR Chairman Cllr. Brown during a meeting at the NEC headquarters in Sinkor, Monrovia.
Western diplomats in Monrovia have also recently been adding pressure on Liberian politicians about the need to ensure a peaceful election.
First, it was European Union Ambassador, Launre Delahouse and later it was the outgoing United States Ambassador, Michael McCarthy.
It is no doubt, amidst the huge challenges being faced around the world in upholding democracy, free, fair, transparent and credible election is crucial to the building of every democracy.
Among the cardinal legal instruments that must be fully respected by all players are Liberia’s New Elections law amended…Relevant constitutional provisions….Voter Registration Regulations….Complaint regulations….Campaign finance regulations….Code of conduct for political parties, among other things.
Now, in the NEC revised 2023 elections timetable, one of the key activities coming up is the Biometric Voter Registration. This is slated to begin on March 20 and will end on May 11.
The New elections law amended in Chapter 3–Voter registration and voter update— forbids trucking of voters in Chapter 3 section 1 C.
It says… “Every voter shall be allowed to vote only in the voting precinct of the electoral district for which he/she is registered.
“A person must register to vote at a voter registration center established by the NEC for the place where he or she ordinarily resides and must vote at the polling place established by the NEC for voters registered at the center.”
Despite the many voter trucking activities seen, NEC took no noticeable action to cause deterrence for the violation of other electoral laws/regulations.
Fear of politicizing state security
In addition to the concerns raised about pre-campaigning before the official kick off of campaigning was alarm raised about the question of politicking the state security forces in the run up to the October 10 polls.
What are the security implications of having a politicized or partisan state security forces, just months to presidential and legislative elections?
Politicizing state security forces has serious implications for the country’s peace and stability and it tends to instill fears in the Liberian people, warns a Liberian security expert, Cecil B. Griffiths who is head of the Liberia National Law Enforcement Association (LINEA).
On Saturday, February 4, 2023, many observing the CDC 2nd term nomination of its Standard Bearer, President George Weah were taken aback to see some of his presidential guards, Executive Protection Service (EPS) officer dressed in CDC party T-shirts and cap carrying automatic weapons at the Antoinette Tubman Stadium (ATS).
Mr. Griffiths, a retired senior officer of the Liberia National Police (LNP), criticized the Director of the EPS, Trokon Roberts who should have taken disciplinary action against his EPS men who violated security ethics by wearing political party T-shirts and caps while armed and in public.
The action of the EPS officers on February 4 to openly sympathizing with a political party “is unprecedented in Liberia and I think we need to put a stop to it, it erodes public confidence in the security sector and the law enforcement community,” the head of the Liberia National Law Enforcement Agency (LINEA) told www.newspublictrust.com back in February this year.
The CDC government said then: “The Government says these concerns are legitimate and terms the EPS Officers’ behavior as embarrassing which it attributes to over-exuberance and lack of knowledge of the standard operating procedures of the service.”
But no official action was taken and publically announced, neither did NEC do anything about the February 4, 2023 showdown nor any of the other multiple pre-campaigning violations both by the ruling CDC nor the opposition parties and aspirants.
So, the stakes are high in the two months leading up to the October 10 presidential and legislative polls, with many hoping that everything will be done to ensure a level playing field and all players will ensure that their supporters promote peaceful elections. Of course, this will be seen through their deeds and words.
BELOW THIS PIECE IS NEC’S CAMPAIGN PERIOD ACTIVITIES:
For the 2023 General Elections, the following activities may be done during the official campaign period announced by the Commission:
- Campaign Rallies;
- Holding a march, parade, or other assemblies for the purpose of soliciting votes and/or promoting an individual aspirant or candidate by way of speech, billboards, pictures, banners, posters, placards, or any other printed materials that tend to promote an individual aspirant or candidate for an elective public office;
- Posters, handbills, and house-to-house contact with voters;
- 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.
- Making contact with voters using print and electronic or social media or radio/TV interviews;
- Forming of an association, or others for the purpose of soliciting votes and/or promoting an individual aspirant or candidate by way of speech, pictures, banners, posters or any other printed materials that tend to promote an individual aspirant or candidate for an elective public office;