-In Bong: Locals calling for sustained civic, voter education ahead of By-election
Ahead of the pending July 31, 2018 Senatorial By-election, the people of Bong County are calling on the National Elections Commission (NEC) to carry out sustained civic and voter (CVE) education programs.
Lack of adequate CVE is said to have accounted for huge number of invalid votes in previous elections in Liberia.
The people of Fuamah District in lower Bong County made the call during an outreach social mobilization program conducted by John Kollie’s Liberia Media for Democratic Initiative (LMDI) DIALOGUE radio program in collaboration with NEC.
According to a press release from the LMDI, the Citizens stated concerns about delay in the conduct of the Senatorial by-elections leading to their loss of interest.
But they called on the NEC to carry out sustained civic voter education and to hold the election on the July date now announced for the polls.
LMDI in partnership with NEC will hold the second in a series of electioneering sensitization public visibility initiatives for the ensuing bi-elections, which were prompted by the ascendancy of President and Vice President George Weah and Jewel Howard Taylor.
The second of the electioneering initiatives involving DIALOGUE forums with the candidates in the senatorial bi-elections will see candidate PRINCE KOLLIE directly with the people SANOYEA he calls his stronghold on tomorrow Tuesday. The DIALOGUE will be held at SANOYEA town in the Lower Bong County area.
Candidate PRINCE KOLLIE’s direct engagement with SANOYEA will be on the sidelines of second sustained civic voter education forums involving candidates and the people as a way of re-igniting interest the 2018 senatorial bi-elections for Bong and Montserrado Counties.
At SANOYEA, PRINCE KOLLIE is expected to tell his people who actually is and the most important milestone he wants to achieve for Bong County.
The LMDI/NEC electioneering sensitization initiatives began with the first of a sustained series of interactive elections sensitive public forums in Bong Mines at Fuamah District under the LMDI’s People To People style flagship platform, “THE DIAGUE” involving.
It featured FAIRNOH GBILAH, one five candidates for the senatorial seats in both Bong and Montserrado Counties on one hand and the peoples of the two counties on the other.
At Bongmines more than 100 people gathered as the audience and heard civic voter education messages and explanations on the new elections law of Liberia and voting procedures from the National Elections Commission and the LMDI.
Earlier FAIRNOH GBILAH one the five candidates for the bi-election in Bong County told Fuamah gathering under THE DIALOGUE of the LMDI that he is the consensus candidate of the people of Lower Bong County wanting a change of what he called the marginalization the Lower Bong.
This is threatening to support split of Bong County in demand of improvement of the lives of the people of Lower Bong.
On the trail of electioneering visibility initiatives, the LMDI says it is individually taking candidates of the ensuing bi-elections to their individual constituencies or strongholds for direct interaction with the people on their ambition and the electoral laws and voting procedures in line with the new elections law of Liberia.
At gatherings candidates and the people exchange frank views especially on key governance issues of the two counties.
Meanwhile, the next and third CVE engagement forum will take place at TOTOTA in Bong County involving candidate, HENRIQUE TOKPA, former internal Affairs Minister and former CUTTING UNIVERSITY professor and President. It will happen this Thursday.
The LMDI/NEC DIALOGUE forums are also seeing massive civic voter education through spot messaging, mobile Public Address (PA) publicity and the distribution of electoral paraphernalia to give the bi-elections in the two counties the required visibility.
All the LMDI/NEC electioneering visibility initiatives (forums) are also intentionally preparing all the candidates for set of four fully fledged candidates debates being planned and organized by the Liberia Media for Democratic Initiatives (LMDI).
The first of the debate will happen on Sunday July 15, 2018 at the Gbarnga Administration Building at Gbarnga City in Bong County.