-Makes demands to NEC before Nov 7 runoff
By Frank Sainworla, Jr. fsainworla@yahoo.com
Ahead of the November 7, 2017 runoff elections, the ruling Unity Party (UP) is joining ranks with others in calling on the National Elections Commission (NEC) to probe allegations of fraud and is demanding publication of the final national voter roll and special precincts.
“We stand in solidarity with all political parties including LP, ANC, ALP and stakeholders who raised concerns about acts of irregularities and fraud at some polling stations” the ruling Unity Party (UP) presidential candidate Vice President Joseph Boakai told a news conference in Monrovia on Monday.
Boakai was referring to the just held October 10, 2017 first round of elections in which final results from NEC put him second to George Weah’s main opposition Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC). Weah got 38% while Boakai trailed with 28.8% of the votes.
In the wake of the runoff elections campaign, which started October 19, Boakai fell short of calling for a rerun of the polls as demanded by Liberty Party (LP) presidential candidate Charles Brumskin but expressed skepticism about the integrity of the process.
“We have consulted our technical and legal experts who have examined the veracity and magnitude of these reports in order to decide the proper course of action to take consistent with the laws of Liberia,” Vice President Boakai said.
The Presidential candidate of the ruling party said “we too have been getting reports from our agents about some abnormalies” and urged NEC “to expeditiously review these concerns” to protect the integrity of the countries electoral process.
The outgoing Liberian Vice President tried to rally the support of citizens for his ticket by hailing his role played in the past 12 years of the UP regime led by outgoing President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who has declined to publically back his presidential bid.
He cited the building of roads, bridges, a free speech democratic environment as some of the regime’s successes.
“We’re grateful for the groundswell of support from Liberia,” the 73-year-old outgoing Vice President said.
And Boakai promises that if elected, he would consolidate the culture of democracy. He says he will form a government of inclusion and reconcile the post war nation, something that outgoing President Sirleaf admitted in her last state of the nation address that her government failed to achieve.
“It will not be a victory of party but a victory of Liberia,” Boakai says.
Seven of the 20 candidates failed to obtain at least one percent of the vote in the first round in an election that is to lead Liberia to its first peaceful transition since 1944, when one elected government is due to hand over power to another elected government next January.
Chalres Brumskine of the opposition Liberty Party (LP) followed in the third place with 9.6% of the votes, with former warlord and now Senator Prince Johnson of the Movement for Democracy and Reconstruction (MDR) toming fourth with 8.4%. Alexander Cummings of the Alternative National Congress (ANC) picked up 7.2$, while Benoni Urey of the All Liberian Party (ALP) came next with 1.6%.