• Brumskine Demands Recusal of NEC Chairman, Commissioners, Sources: Daily OBSERVER, The Bush Chicken, and The New Dawn
• Runoff suspended indefinitely, Sources: Daily OBSERVER, FrontPage Africa, News Public Trust, and The New Dawn
• Carter Center Encourages Liberian Political Parties to Continue Reiterating Messages of Peace, Source: FrontPage Africa
• Supreme Court condemns attack on Associate Justice, Sources: FrontPage Africa, News Public Trust, and The New Dawn
• Liberian President Urges Youth to Be Innovative and Prepared, Source: FrontPage Africa
• “We are ready to vote UP out”, Source: The New Dawn
• Supreme Court delays vote runoff amid fraud allegations, Sources: Al Jazeera, Global Times, Ripples Nigeria, and The New York Times
• Liberia’s Sirleaf, Mahama’s brother named in Paradise Papers, Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Brumskine Demands Recusal of NEC Chairman, Commissioners, Sources: Daily OBSERVER, The Bush Chicken, and The New Dawn

The standard bearer of the opposition Liberty Party (LP), Cllr. Charles Brumskine is demanding that the chairman and fellow commissioners of the National Elections Commission (NEC) recuse themselves from presiding over his party’s claim of irregularities and fraud against the electoral body. The NEC is expected to hear the case in line with the mandate of the Supreme Court, beginning Tuesday, 7 November.

Speaking Monday at a press conference held at the LP headquarters in Congo Town, Cllr. Brumskine added that his party does not feel comfortable about the NEC commissioners presiding over the case because they have already rendered a judgment.

“We will ask the NEC officials to recuse themselves from the case and, if they refuse, we will go back to court and file an appeal for the Supreme Court to mandate that they must be removed. We don’t independently trust the judgment from the NEC Commissioners concerning our complaint, once that they have pre-judged the case,” the LP political leader noted; saying the law gives him the right to ask the NEC commissioners presiding over the case to recuse themselves from hearing the case. Read more

Runoff suspended indefinitely, Sources: Daily OBSERVER, FrontPage Africa, News Public Trust, and The New Dawn

The Supreme Court has issued a peremptory writ of prohibition requested by defeated opposition Liberty Party (LP) presidential candidate Cllr. Charles Brumskine, indefinitely suspending the conduct of a presidential runoff due between the main opposition Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) of Senator George Weah and the ruling Unity Party (UP) of Vice President Joseph Boakai on 7 November.

"With this guidance, this Court is at a loss as to how the National Elections Commission would claim to be properly situated to decide, as required by the Liberian Constitution, on the two designated tickets with the greatest number of valid votes cast in the first ballot in order for those two tickets to participate in the runoff election when the Commission is yet to finalize an investigation into complaint of alleged massive irregularities and fraudulent acts," Chief Justice Francis Korkpor said Monday, 6 November.

Among 20 presidential candidates that contested the 10 October elections, Cllr. Brumskine came in third place, claiming 9.6 percent of the total votes, while Senator Weah claims 38.4 percent, followed by Vice President Boakai with 28.8 percent of the votes.

But Brumskine rejected the results and demanded a rerun of the entire polls, a case he still has pending before the NEC for determination. Following arguments between the NEC and LP on Friday, 3 November, the Supreme Court ruled Monday that the electoral commission is estopped and prohibited from conducting a runoff election until Brumskine’s complaint is investigated by the NEC. Read more

Carter Center Encourages Liberian Political Parties to Continue Reiterating Messages of Peace, Source: FrontPage Africa

As Monday’s Supreme Court ruling means a significant delay in the Liberian presidential runoff originally scheduled for Tuesday, 7 November, The Carter Center (TCC) has reiterated its call for all political parties to reaffirm their commitments to a peaceful process and ensure that their supporters maintain calm and exercise patience as they await resolution of electoral disputes.

All Liberians must remain committed to ensuring a peaceful democratic transition from one government to another. Although the timing for the remainder of the electoral process is now uncertain, and continued delays could raise concerns about constitutionally mandated timeframes, TCC is encouraged by Liberian voices that have pledged to put Liberia first and ensure that the peace is upheld.

TCC’s election observation mission has been observing the proceedings before the National Election Commission and the Supreme Court.

The Center notes that in the hearings to date, all parties to the complaints have been given sufficient time to prepare their cases and be heard before the adjudicating bodies. With one exception, the NEC has granted complainants’ requests to submit documentary evidence and call witnesses. Read more

Supreme Court condemns attack on Associate Justice, Sources: FrontPage Africa, News Public Trust, and The New Dawn

The Supreme Court has condemned in the strongest terms, the attack on the home of Associate Justice Sie-A-Nyene Yuoh. In a press release, the high court said on the evening of Sunday, 5 November, at about 9:00 pm, some unknown persons began throwing large stones into the compound of the Associate Justice intending to cause harm to persons living in the compound as well as cause damage to properties.

The Court re-emphasized that as provided by law, no justice of the Supreme Court Bench, nor judge of subordinate courts, to include courts of records and those not of record, are to engage in political activities; as they are to remain neutral at all times so as to dispense fair and impartial justice should the case arise out of such activities. Read more

Liberian President Urges Youth to Be Innovative and Prepared, Source: FrontPage Africa

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has urged Liberian youths to be more innovative and prepared for leadership roles in the future. President Sirleaf said young people play a critical part in the national discourse, therefore, their capacities should be enhanced to enable them to deliver when given the opportunity to serve in leadership roles.

The president made the call when the leadership of the Coalition of Youth and Students against Poverty and Discrimination (CYSPD) paid her a courtesy visit at her farm in Bomi County last Thursday to honor her for sustaining the peace under her regime. Read

“We are ready to vote UP out”, Source: The New Dawn

The New Dawn reports that some diehard partisans of the main opposition Coalition for Democratic Coalition (CDC) say they are prepared to vote out the ruling Unity Party (UP) at the presidential runoff which still faces a legal challenge by the defeated opposition Liberty Party (LP) presidential candidate, Cllr. Charles Brumskine.

The runoff is suspended by the Supreme Court to allow the National Elections Commission (NEC) hear and decide Cllr. Brumskine's complaint of alleged fraud and irregularities in the 10 October elections in which he emerged third among 20 presidential candidates.

CDC partisans told The New Dawn in separate interviews over the weekend that despite the prohibition placed on the runoff election, they are in readiness to prove to the world that the CDC is the winner of the elections.

According to them, attempts by LP political leader to destabilize the runoff process have reenergized supporters of the CDC, vowing that nothing will stop them from whipping the ruling Unity Party (UP) who they say supports the other losing political parties. Read more

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA ON LIBERIA

Supreme Court delays vote runoff amid fraud allegations, Sources: Al Jazeera, Global Times, Ripples Nigeria, and The New York Times

Liberia's Supreme Court has delayed a presidential runoff indefinitely, a day before the vote was due to take place. The court on Monday announced the decision, saying the election would not go ahead until a legal complaint alleging voter fraud and irregularities by the opposition Liberty Party is resolved. The National Elections Commission will now need to consider allegations of voter fraud. The runoff between former international footballer George Weah and Vice President Joseph Boakai had been set for Tuesday. Read more

Liberia’s Sirleaf, Mahama’s brother named in Paradise Papers, Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Liberia’s outgoing president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Ibrahim Mahama, brother of former Ghanaian President were all mentioned in the Paradise Papers that exposed the offshore interests and activities of more than 120 politicians and world leaders, including Queen Elizabeth II, and 13 advisers, major donors and members of U.S. President Donald J. Trump.

Just like the Panama Papers, the Paradise Papers that were skimmed from the files of a law group, Appleby, were published on Sunday by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, ICIJ.

The two Africans, along with the foreign minister of Uganda and President of the Nigerian Senate, Bukola Saraki, have all denied any wrongdoing in opening the offshore accounts. Read more