17 October 2017

LIBERIA MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

LP calls for mass demonstration, Source: The New Dawn

The national youth wing of the Liberty Party (LP) is calling for mass protest here to challenge results of Tuesday’s presidential and Legislative elections, citing alleged irregularities. Addressing reporters Sunday, 15 October at a news conference at the party headquarters in the Monrovia suburb of Old Road, the chairman of the LP Gallant National Youth Wing, Cephas Flanzamaton says the recent polls had series of irregularities.

“We in the Liberty Party have noticed several irregularities that characterized the process. Those irregularities have greatly affected the anticipated free, fair and transparent electoral process that we envisaged”, he complains. Flanzamaton continues that in an effort to demonstrate the party’s seriousness in rejecting results from the polls, the youth wing will this week begin an indiscriminate violence free protest in Monrovia and parts adjacent, specifically at the headquarters of the National Elections Commission on 9th Street, Sinkor.

The party complains of several irregularities, some of them already acknowledged by the NEC and wants the commission to halt the ongoing counting, tallying, and announcing of provisional results, pending a thorough investigation. Read more

ALP demands election re-run, Source: The New Dawn

The All Liberian Party (ALP) has joined the Liberty Party (LP) to demand a re-run of the 10 October presidential and Legislative elections.

The ALP in a strongly worded press release says all of its poll observers and observers from other political parties have recorded their dissatisfaction over the restriction of observers six feet or more away from the counting process, where they could not authenticate the announced winning candidate by the counting officer, while in some instances, the lack of adequate light to permit an independent determination of the ballots.

“In furtherance, it is imperative that this matter reaches all relevant authorities. We believe that we must stop at no length that the sacred rights of Liberians, as enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of Liberia, will remain inviolate, even if necessary, the temporary suspension of the Constitution”, the ALP release said.

The document cites Saclepea, Nimba County, where it claims that officials of the National Elections Commission (NEC), were caught stuffing pre-marked ballot papers, allegedly in favor of a pre-determined presidential candidate, which resulted in the arrest of said staff by the Liberia National Police and thereafter, under investigation, confessed to said crime. Read more

UPP endorses CDC, Source: The New Dawn

Ahead of the final announcement of elections results by the National Elections Commission (NEC), the United People’s Party (UPP) has officially endorsed the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) for an imminent presidential run-off expected between the CDC and ruling Unity Party (UP) in November. Provisional results released by the NEC as of 15 October puts the UPP of presidential candidate MacDonald Wento at 8,613 (0.6 percent) of the votes counted so far.

The NEC is yet to officially announce a run-off yet but Liberians are glaringly bracing for a second round between Senator George Weah’s CDC and Vice President Joseph Boakai’s UP against the backdrop that none of the 20 presidential candidates can acquire 50 percent plus one of the total votes as required under the Liberian law to be declared a winner.

Over the weekend, Mr. Wento along with former stalwarts of the party stormed the CDC headquarters in total celebrations as though Mr. Wento had miraculously been declared the winner of the October polls. But the occasion was to declare his support to Senator Weah if there should be a run-off. With final results expected this Friday after 95 percent of counting has been done, the CDC has comfortably obtained 39.0 percent of the total votes cast ahead of the UP which has 29.1 percent. Read more

WSR Head Advocating For Election Date Change, Source: FrontPage Africa

The Women’s Situation Room-Liberia (WSR) has recommended that the timing of Liberia’s Presidential and Legislative Elections be reconsidered. The WSR is calling on the Legislature to consider legislating that the election be held in the Dry Season, which runs from April 15 to October 15 annually, instead of its present timing of second Tuesday in October every election year. According to them, the re-timing would eliminate some of the problems encountered during the Rainy Season.

WSR-Liberia head, Cllr. Yvette Chesson Wureh said conducting the elections during the Rainy Season, affects the capability of the National Elections Commission (NEC) to distribute ballot papers, other election materials, and staff timely. Speaking on other election-related issues, Cllr. Wureh also recommended that NEC polling staff be trained properly to handle the run-off election if there’s a run-off in order to minimize the high percentage of invalid ballots that are now being reported by the electoral commission. Read more

LEEWARG Calls for Responsible Post-Elections Media Reporting, Source: Daily OBSERVER

The Liberia Elections Early Warning and Response Group (LEEWARG) has called on the Press Union of Liberia (PUL) to ensure that media practitioners in the country uphold the ethics of the profession in this crucial electoral period and going forward if peace is to be maintained.

Addressing journalists over the weekend at its second post-election press conference on its preliminary findings before and during the October polls, the chairman of LEEWARG, ECOWAS Ambassador to Liberia, Tunde Ajisomo, said while it is a good thing to have press freedom, the responsibilities associated with that freedom should not be abused; and most importantly, must not neglect the need to protect the hard-earned peace.

“The Press Union of Liberia should ensure that media institutions maintain its code of ethics in providing the public credible information on the electoral processes and avoid bias and sensationalism in their reportage. This will help avoid ethical transgression that may inflame electoral violence,” Ambassador Ajisomo said.

Making reference to what happened at the Calvary Chapel Mission School precinct in Paynesville, Montserrado County Electoral District #6, the ECOWAS diplomat said journalists who visited that voting center nearly “let heaven lose” based on their inflammatory reportage about happenings as the polling went on. Read more

Over 84,000 invalid votes upset citizens, Source: The New Dawn

The New Dawn reports that Liberian electorates are frustrated over the astronomical invalid votes from the 2017 presidential and representatives elections conducted across the country on Tuesday, 10 October. The chairman of the National Elections Commission (NEC),  Cllr. Jerome Korkoya disclosed that the total valid votes from the polls as of 15 October is 1,466,748 (100.0%) while total invalid votes is put at 84,057 and the total votes cast for the presidency is 1,550,805.

Several apparently disturbed citizens speaking to The New Dawn on Monday said the NEC should have conducted more CVE programs across the country to adequately sensitize the electorates prior to Tuesday’s polls, stressing that this could have reduced the number of invalid votes. Read more

Civil Society group seeks explanation from NEC, Source: The New Dawn

The National Elections Commission (NEC) is being challenged to prove how 84,057 ballots from the 10 October polls are rendered invalid. Addressing reporters over the weekend in Paynesville outside Monrovia, the secretary-general of a local civil society group, Citizens for Transparent Elections in Liberia says the figures announced by the NEC chairman, Cllr. Jerome Korkoya is alarming. “I wonder how can this figure as pronounced by the NEC excel the total numbers of register voters in some counties and what also necessitated it”, asks Mr. Patrick D. White.

Mr. White argues that the invalid votes as released by the NEC clearly demonstrates that the electoral body miserably failed to conduct sufficient public education throughout the country prior to the polls on how people should vote especially, for first-time voters. Read more

LEON Observes Positive Elections, Source: Daily OBSERVER

The Liberia Elections Observation Network (LEON) says it observed positive voting and counting processes overall and continues to observe the tallying and post-election environment, according to a press release yesterday.

LEON noted that there were problems with slow application of procedures, poor queue control and lack of direction for voters on which polling places they were assigned to. “Although this led to long queues in many precincts on Election Day, Liberians exercised their vote in a generally calm manner. Tallying is ongoing around the country and it is positive that the NEC has started to issue partial results as they come in,” the LEON release said.

LEON is a platform of four Liberian CSOs: Catholic Justice and Peace Commission (JPC), Liberia Crusaders for Peace (LCP), Federation of Liberia Youth (FLY), and National Union of Organizations for the Disabled (NUOD), with the goal to meaningfully contribute to the democratization process in Liberia by providing an avenue for civil society to participate in monitoring and observing the 2017 elections. Read more

30 Women Election Observers Seek Peaceful End to Process, Source: Daily OBSERVER

A women organization under the banner, Women’s Situation Room-Liberia (WSR), which deployed 30 personnel to observe the conduct of last Tuesday’s electoral process in Nimba County has called for a peaceful end to the process. Ms. Musu Kardamie, WSR executive director, said that the observers were assigned at every polling place in all the electoral districts to ensure that the elections were free, transparent, and fair.

“The 30 observers were trained along with other women from Bong and Lofa counties with requisite knowledge of elections concerning the collection of data that includes the number of voters at every center and their ages,” Ms. Kardamie said.

Prior to deploying the observers, the women paraded the streets of Ganta carrying peace messages to several other actors including officers of Liberia National Police and the city authorities. Read more

IREDD Releases New Report on October Polls, Source: Daily OBSERVER

A local CSO, the Institute for Research and Democratic Development (IREDD) has released its new report on the October 10 polls, entitled: “IREDD’s Monitoring of Electoral Integrity and Abuse of Incumbency.” In the midst of the heavily competitive and intense campaigns, IREDD documented a number of incidents and violations which it said amounted to an abuse of incumbency and a violation of the electoral laws of Liberia.

The group’s project manager, Mercy Sackey, who read the report at a press conference in Monrovia, said during the electoral process, it observed that representatives of opposition political parties were denied access to public facilities, such as community and district town halls, something the group thinks should not have happened.

The IREDD report also stated that while public buildings and facilities have been widely used for campaign purposes, “some privileged politicians have easily accessed public facilities than others in the opposition.” Read more

Special Judiciary Task Force to Review Cases of Pre-trial Detainees, Source: FrontPage Africa

Pre-trial detainees in detention centers in Montserrado and Margibi Counties are to have their cases reviewed, FrontPage Africa reports. This was disclosed Monday by a member of the Special Judiciary Task Force (SJTF), who asked for anonymity as he wasn’t authorized to speak with the media.

The SJTF, which comprised of judges, the Independent National Commission on Human Rights Commission (INCHR) and the Ministry of Justice, was set up recently by Chief Justice Francis Korkpor to review cases of pre-trial detainees, who have been held in detention centers in two counties, Montserrado and Margibi. According to FrontPage Africa, the SJTF was given the mandate to review cases of rape and armed robbery ranging as far back from 2009 to 2015.

“The special task force will resume work this week; it will be reviewing cases of pre-trial detainees. At the end of its revision, make recommendations to the Chief Justice,” said the source. Read more

Advocate Sees Impunity in Liberia After Jungle Jabbah Trial in America, Source: FrontPage Africa

An advocate for justice for victims of war crimes and crimes against humanity, Hassan Bility, has said that the trial of former ULIMO general Mohammed Jabateh in the United States shows that Liberians are becoming open to ending the culture of impunity at home. “I believe that Liberians have been able to realize that the culture of impunity has plagued this country for about a hundred and seventy years and that nothing has changed,” Mr. Bility said in an exclusive interview with New Narratives/FrontPage Africa carried live on Facebook recently.

“Liberia has been doing the same thing over and over and nothing’s changed. I am happy that Liberians who have lived in other countries and who have begun to see the development in other places are now beginning to realize that the best way forward is to discourage this culture of impunity,” he added. Read more

Former Weah Running Mate Decries ‘Corrupt, Incompetent Leadership’, Source: Daily OBSERVER

Liberia’s former foreign minister, J. Rudolph Johnson, Saturday, October 7, broke silence when he called on the incoming Liberian government to consider organizing and convening as soon as possible a National Conference of Liberians from all walks of life and from all parts of the world.

Addressing the 2017 Conference of the National Association of Cape Mountainians in the Americas in Columbus, Ohio, Mr. Johnson observed that Liberia was currently facing three major crises, which needed to be addressed and resolved at once in order to get the country moving on a solid path to sustainable peace and development.

Liberia’s identity crisis, moral decay, and incompetent and corrupt leadership, Johnson stated, were mainly responsible for the country having now become the fourth poorest in the world and one of the most corrupt in Africa.

The former foreign minister, who during 2005 presidential elections served as a running mate to Senator George Weah of the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC), regretted the fact that after all these years, Liberians still did not seem to be a united people with a common destiny. He also decried the moral breakdown in religious institutions, state, and society, as reflected in Liberia’s current high crime rate, ranging from child abuse and rape to armed robbery and human sacrifice. Read more

Inter-Con Security Found Liable For Unfair Labor Practice in Liberia, Source: FrontPage Africa

One of the leading private security firms in Liberia that provides security for the United States Embassy in Monrovia and other very important clients has been found liable for unfair labor practices.

In a ruling from the hearing officer, Nathaniel Dickson of the Labor Ministry’s Division of Labor Standards, the Ministry found Inter-con liable and ordered it to pay USD620,418.02 to 38 complainants. Read more

Global Hand Washing Day Celebrated in Margibi County, Source: FrontPage Africa

A program in observance of the 9th anniversary of Global Hand Washing Day has taken place in Kakata, Margibi County with calls for Liberians across throughout the country to add regular hands washing to their ways of life if they are to remain safe from water-borne related diseases.

The Global Hand Washing Day celebration was interspersed with a parade by students through the principal streets of Kakata and an indoor event where students performed dramas and songs depicting messages on the importance of regular hands washing. The Global Hand Washing Day celebration held under the theme: “Our Hand Our Future” was organized by the faith-based organization, Living Water International (LWI) under the auspices of the UNICEF WASH in School Project. Read more

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA ON LIBERIA

Liberia awaits final vote count as Brumskine demands a do-over, Source: Africa Times

Liberians are still anxiously waiting to hear complete election results from the National Elections Commission (NEC) as voters in two Nimba precincts will recast their votes on Tuesday.

The NEC says it will withhold any further results reporting until Nimba’s are added to the count, which keeps the known results based on 95.6 percent of the precincts and their votes cast on October 10.

Former football star and Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) presidential candidate George Weah has a commanding lead with 39 percent of the vote, while Joseph Boakai of the ruling Unity Party has 29.1 percent of votes tallied. Liberty Party candidate Charles Brumskine has 9.8 percent of the vote, while no other candidate in the field of 20 hopefuls received more than 7.1 percent of votes cast. Read more

Liberia's Nimba precincts vote today ahead of run-off declaration, Source: Africa News

Liberia’s National Elections Commission (NEC) confirmed on Monday that two polling stations in the Nimba county would be voting today.

Voting in the area located in the country’s northeast was disrupted on the day of voting (October 10) leading to a postponement of polls.

Chairman of NEC Liberia, Jerome Korkoya, confirmed the repeat poll a day after the elections. The presidential poll result is currently at 95% of official results declared.

Ex-football star, George Weah is in the lead with 39% of votes, his closest contender is vice-president, Joseph Boakai who has 29.1% of votes.

The NEC is supposed to officially announce a run-off between the two frontrunners after adding votes from the Nimba county.

Liberians on October 10 went to the polls to elect a successor to Africa’s first democratically elected female president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Twenty candidates entered the race – nineteen men and one woman.

Due to it being a general election, they also elected 73 members of parliament out of 986 aspirants.

Liberia: Runoff Between Weah, Boakai Slated For November 7, Sources: ENCA and Sahara Reporters

Former soccer star George Weah will face Liberian Vice President Joseph Boakai in a runoff election on November 7.

Liberia held its presidential election on Tuesday, but no candidate secured 50 percent of the vote, which is required in order to win without a runoff.

Mr. Weah topped the poll with 39 percent of the vote while the vice president came in second with 29.1 percent. Twenty candidates contested for the presidency.

The Chairman of the National Elections Commission, Jerome Korkoya, said that 1,550,923 votes had been tallied, amounting to a turnout of 74.52 percent,

The winner of the November 7 contest will replace President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who has served two terms as Africa’s first woman head of state.

Before Mrs. Johnson Sirleaf took office in 2006, the small west African country was ruled by warlord Charles Taylor, who is serving a 50-year prison sentence for war crimes. He has thrown his support behind the former FIFA World Footballer of the Year, Mr. Weah.

Liberia has not had a peaceful transfer of power in 73 years.

Jurors could begin weighing charges in 'Jungle Jabbah' warlord trial, Source: The Inquirer

A federal jury could begin deliberating as soon as Tuesday the fate of Mohammed Jabateh, the Delaware County man accused of hiding his alleged past as a Liberian warlord to gain entry into the United States.

Lawyers on both sides are expected to deliver closing arguments Tuesday morning — a day after presenting their final witnesses in the case.

In seven days of testimony, more than 15 government witnesses, many flown in from Liberia, accused Jabateh of committing unfathomable acts of violence, including rape, murder and cannibalism, during the West African nation’s first civil war between 1989 and 1996.

The bloody, multi-factioned conflict left more than 250,000 dead and generated dozens of documented reports of wartime atrocities. And yet, Jabateh is only the second person tried anywhere in the world for alleged crimes stemming from conduct during the conflict.

U.S. prosecutors charged him last year with lying on immigration forms he filed to obtain political asylum in 1997 and later permanent residency here. Read more

Disclaimer
 

This media summary consists of selected local media articles for the information of UN personnel. The public distribution of this media summary is a courtesy service extended by UNMIL on the understanding that the choice of articles included is exclusive, and the contents do not represent anything other than a selection of articles likely to be of interest to a United Nations readership. The inclusion of articles in this summary does not imply endorsement by UNMIL.

 

 

 

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