• IREDD Finds Two Political Parties UP, LP the Violators, Source: FrontPage Africa and New DEMOCRAT
• Liberty Party Charles Brumskine Stirs Up Boakai’s Stronghold, Source: FrontPage Africa
• Edwin Snowe Threatens Stall Development in Bomi Should They Fail to Vote for VP Boakai, Source: FrontPage Africa
• Human Rights Lawyer Gongloe Pledges Support to Boakai’s Candidacy, Sources: Daily OBSERVER and FrontPage Africa
• NAYMOTE to Host Peace Jamboree in Monrovia to Mitigate Elections Violence, Source: FrontPage Africa and Daily OBSERVER
• Supreme Court Increases Rapist Jail Term from 10 to 25 Years after Appeal, Source: FrontPage Africa
•  ‘LFA is a Political Party’ – Blay, Source: FrontPage Africa
• Not Trusted! Why Opposition Struggles to Win, Source: New DEMOCRAT

IREDD Finds Two Political Parties UP, LP the Violators, Sources: FrontPage Africa and New DEMOCRAT

A survey conducted by the Institute for Research and Democratic Development (IREDD) shows that the ruling Unity Party (UP) continues to enjoy the advantage of accessing state resources far more than any of the contending parties, this paper reports.  According to IREDD, state resources are being misused, especially human resources and state-owned vehicles for campaign purposes across the country.

IREDD also linked the National Social Security and Welfare Corporation (NASSCORP) and the opposition Liberty Party (LP) to vote buying, with its executive director Harold Aidoo, accusing NASSCORP of funding the party’s campaign by granting the Nimba Rubber Incorporated (NRI), a company owned by LP’s vice presidential candidate, Harrison Karnwea, USD1.4 million to operate the Cocopa Rubber Corporation, a claim NASSCORP has distanced itself from.

Liberty Party Charles Brumskine Stirs Up Boakai’s Stronghold, Source: FrontPage Africa

This paper reports that the Liberty Party (LP) launch in Lofa County might have sent a troubling message to the ruling Unity Party (UP) presidential candidate, Vice President Joseph Boakai who hails from the county, as several hundreds of LP supporters turned out en masse in Boakai’s stronghold to show their unflinching support for Cllr. Charles Brumskine’s presidency.

Addressing a huge crowd of supporters Thursday during the campaign launch in Voinjama, Cllr. Brumskine said the 10 October elections are about restoring the dignity the UP-led government deprived the Liberian people of. He challenged the people of Lofa County to vote out the ruling party and overwhelmingly elect him as the next president.

Edwin Snowe Threatens Stall Development in Bomi Should They Fail to Vote for VP Boakai, Source: FrontPage Africa

Speaking at his campaign launch in Tubmanburg in Bomi County, Montserrado County Representative Edwin Snowe threatened to fail the people of Bomi if they do not vote for the presidential candidate of the Unity Party, Vice President Joseph Boakai.

Snowe’s statement generated mixed views amongst the people in Bomi with some condemning his call to force them to vote for someone they noted has not impacted their lives.

Human Rights Lawyer Gongloe Pledges Support to Boakai’s Candidacy, Source: FrontPage Africa

Addressing a group of judicial reporters at a news conference Thursday in Monrovia, Cllr. Tiawon Gongloe said he has closely listened to many presidential candidates for the 2017 presidential and representative elections giving reasons why they should be elected president, while some visited him and he met with others at their homes on invitation and some even surprised him with the offer to making him running mate, but he decided to make his preference public by naming the presidential candidate of the ruling Unity Party, Vice President Joseph Boakai as his choice for the presidency. Gongloe believes that Mr. Boakai is able to strengthen the process of peace building, reconciliation, reconstruction, and stimulating the national consciousness of the Liberian people for the building of a better Liberia.

NAYMOTE to Host Peace Jamboree in Monrovia to Mitigate Elections Violence, Sources: Daily OBSERVER and FrontPage Africa

The National Youth Movement for Transparent Elections (NAYMOTE) says it will on Monday, 9 October convene a one-day peace jamboree in Monrovia to mitigate elections violence in the country. According to NAYMOTE, the event is to entertain, educate, mobilize, and appreciate the peaceful participation of young voters during and after Election Day, emphasizing that the event is expected to bring together about 500 young voters from across Montserrado County.

Supreme Court Increases Rapist Jail Term from 10 to 25 Years after Appeal, Source: FrontPage Africa

The Supreme Court has confirmed the guilty verdict of a 20-year old man who raped a 10-year old girl in 2011. James Marfalon was sentenced to 10 years by the jury at the Criminal Court ‘E’. An appeal was taken to the high court but the sentence was extended to 25 years. Associate Justice Sie-A-Nyene Yuoh said the high court agreed that Marfalon committed the act based on the facts and supporting pieces of evidence adduced during the trial of the case.

‘LFA is a Political Party’ – Blay, Source: FrontPage Africa

The former administrative manager and captain of the Liberia National Football Team, Mr. Washington Blay has described the Liberia Football Association (LFA) as a political party and also questioned world football governing body, FIFA’s decision to appoint Mr. Musa Bility, president of the LFA, as head of an integrity committee to Sierra Leone. “The LFA right now is a political party; all of the people who are steering the affairs of the LFA are campaigning for Liberty Party (LP). They are doing so because of Bility’s presence at the LP that which has broken the effectiveness of the LFA and they are completely playing blind loyalty to an individual,” Mr. Blay said.

The former Lone Star captain also said the decision for FIFA to allow Mr. Bility to settle a dispute in Sierra Leone was counter-productive to the status of FIFA and he (Bility) has integrity problem that denied him the right to contest for FIFA presidency in 2015.

Not Trusted! Why Opposition Struggles to Win, Source: New DEMOCRAT

The New Democrat quoting independent Afrobarometer survey reports that opposition political parties in Liberia will not win presidential elections because the majority of the country’s 4.5 million population does not have faith in its ability to administer the nation’s affairs. Afrobarometer has conducted comparative series of public opinion surveys that measure public attitudes towards democracy, governance, the economy, leadership, identity, and other related issues. The survey conducted three years to the scheduled 10 October elections in 2013 indicates that 46 percent of the 1,200 people interviewed think the presidency under the ruling Unity Party can be trusted. “Notably, trust level for the presidency under the ruling Unity Party has not changed since 2008 amongst Liberians despite dissatisfaction with the handling of corruption,” the survey said.