• UP Scrutinizes NEC Boss Credibility to Handle Runoff Election, Source: FrontPage Africa
• UP Exposes Ambiguity in Supreme Court Decision, Source: Daily OBSERVER
• ‘Not About Endorsement But to Degrade and Humiliate Me,’ Brumskine Laments, Source: Daily OBSERVER
• Registered Voters Exclusion in Runoff Polls Breeds ‘Constitutional Conflict’, Sources: Daily OBSERVER and FrontPage Africa
• NEC Hearing Officer Accused of Shielding Nimba District #4 Election Magistrate, Source: FrontPage Africa
• President Sirleaf Blasts Media For Talking ‘Trash’ About Developmental Gains, Source: FrontPage Africa
• ECOWAS Pays Final Tribute To President Sirleaf At Last Summit, Sources: Daily OBSERVER and FrontPage Africa
• Ebola survivors in Liberia demand prosecutions for fraud and corruption that cost lives, Source: The Washington Times

UP Scrutinizes NEC Boss Credibility to Handle Runoff Election, Source: FrontPage Africa

The national chairman of the governing Unity Party (UP) has expressed dismay over the credibility of the chairman of the National Elections Commission (NEC), Cllr. Jerome Korkoya, to conduct a free, fair, and transparent runoff election on December 26. Mr. Wilmot Paye speaking to reporters over the weekend at the party headquarters said even though the UP does not have the appointing and dismissal power to remove the NEC chairman but as a political party, it is deeply concerned over the poor performance and inability of Cllr. Korkoya to lead the affairs of the presidential runoff election. Read more

UP Exposes Ambiguity in Supreme Court Decision, Source: Daily OBSERVER

The Daily Observer reports that a complaint filed by the ruling Unity Party (UP) against the National Elections Commission (NEC) for scheduling the December 26 runoff presidential elections has exposed many ambiguities in the Supreme Court opinion, on which the electoral body relied to set the date.

In their case against the December 26 date set for the runoff, the ruling party argued that the opinion (judgment) ordering a runoff election should be held in accordance with the “Constitution and Election Law,” which “did not state when the election shall be held.”

“All that it said was that before a runoff election is held, the Final Registration Roll (FRR) should be cleaned and sanitized and published in hard copies at the offices of the election magistrates and at each polling place,” the UP said. “But, when exactly after the clearing and sanitizing of the FRR and its publication at the offices of election magistrates and polling places prior to the runoff should (the runoff) be held?” the complaint wondered. Read more

‘Not About Endorsement But to Degrade and Humiliate Me,’ Brumskine Laments, Source: Daily OBSERVER

The political leader of the opposition Liberty Party (LP) has expressed bitter disappointment over the action taken by its chairman Ben Sanvee, his vice standard bearer Harrison Karnwea, and others declaring that theirs was an attempt to humiliate him. Cllr. Charles Brumskine  said their superimposition of the CDC presidential candidate George Weah’s photo on LP campaign T-shirts, without his permission, meant to convey a misleading impression that he had endorsed Senator Weah, was “wrong”, subtly suggesting  that it was indeed a criminal act, although he did not say he would press charges against them. Cllr. Brumskine clarified that the LP, which finished third in the October 10 elections is yet to endorse any of the two parties that are due to contest the runoff.

Enraged LP partisans over the last weekend trooped in their numbers to the party headquarters to seek clarification from Cllr. Brumskine about rumors that the hierarchy has clandestinely endorsed Weah’s presidential bid.

Cllr. Brumskine, who was constrained to return to the country and calm the growing tension upon receiving the information that his party was embroiled in an endorsement crisis, said anyone who has endorsed either the ruling Unity Party or the main opposition Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) has done so of his or her own volition, as the LP is yet to reach a consensus on the matter among the members of the Executive Committee, which comprises 34 individuals. Read more

Registered Voters Exclusion in Runoff Polls Breeds ‘Constitutional Conflict’, Sources: Daily OBSERVER and FrontPage Africa

The Better Future Foundation (BFF), a civil society organization, has expressed serious concern with respect to the new date set by the National Elections Commission (NEC) for the conduct of the presidential runoff election without first publishing and/or exhibiting the Final Registration Roll (FRR) for its verification and validation by electorates and other stakeholders.

In release issued in Monrovia over the weekend, BFF said to erase any iota of suspicion and guarantee free, fair, transparent, and credible runoff on 26 December, which outcome would be free of protests and other remonstrations contrary to what the nation experienced in the first round of the October 10 elections, the NEC must immediately exhibit the FRR at polling places and magisterial centers across the country.

The release quotes BFF president, Augustine Arkoi, as saying the exhibition of the FRR by the NEC would not only increase public confidence in the operation of the electoral commission but also enable eligible voters who obtained valid voter cards without their names and other key elements of identity reflected in the FRR of the NEC during the first round of the presidential and legislative elections to be included for their smooth participation in the scheduled runoff. Read more

NEC Hearing Officer Accused of Shielding Nimba District #4 Election Magistrate, Source: FrontPage Africa

FrontPage Africa reports that the row over the result of Nimba County District #4 representative election is far from over as the National Elections Commission (NEC) hearing officer, Cllr. John Wonsehleay has been accused of committing a reversible error after ruling into a complaint of malpractices. The accusation was contained in a 21-count Bill of Exception filed to the NEC Board of Commissioners by Nimba District #4 representative candidate and current lawmaker, Garrison Yealue, against the ruling of Cllr. Wonsehleay. The NEC Board of Commissioners is set to hear Yealue’s concern in due course. Read more

President Sirleaf Blasts Media For Talking ‘Trash’ About Developmental Gains, Source: FrontPage Africa

FrontPage Africa reports that President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf seems to no longer hide her feelings about how she feels about the local media. President Sirleaf criticized them for not promoting her developmental agenda and projects and accused them of talking “trash.”

 “I like what you have as the motto of the National Port Authority (NPA), “Talk Less, Do More. I wish all Liberians took this to heart and follow that maybe our radio stations would now carry things that talk about development, talk about building society and not talk so much trash,” the president said Friday at the NPA in Monrovia. Read more

ECOWAS Pays Final Tribute To President Sirleaf At Last Summit, Sources: Daily OBSERVER and FrontPage Africa

The media reports that amidst a sustained applaud and standing ovation, ECOWAS leaders paid homage to President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as she attended her last summit of the regional body as President of Liberia. A release from the Liberian Embassy in Abuja says President Sirleaf’s special recognition took place Saturday during the 52nd Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government in Abuja, Nigeria.

ECOWAS chairperson, President Faure Essonzimna Gnassingbe of Togo, devoted a significant portion of his opening remarks to the honor of President Sirleaf. “I would like to take the opportunity, ladies and gentlemen, to seize this exceptional opportunity to pay a final tribute to the one we all know as the ‘Iron Lady’, Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of the Republic of Liberia”, the release quotes the chairperson of ECOWAS as saying. Read more

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA ON LIBERIA

Ebola survivors in Liberia demand prosecutions for fraud and corruption that cost lives, Source: The Washington Times

Faith Sayeh blamed the Red Cross for the death of her husband and two children during the 2014 Ebola outbreak that claimed thousands of lives here. “I lost my husband and two sons because there were no health workers to give them treatment,” the teary-eyed widow said. “It pains me a lot that people were dying every day not because there was no money but because the money that was meant to hire more health workers went to individuals’ pockets.”

Ms. Sayeh was referring to the shocking report by International Red Cross auditors in November that $6 million was lost to fraud and corruption during the Ebola epidemic in West Africa from March 2014 to January 2016. The auditors discovered overpriced supplies, salaries for nonexistent aid workers and fake customs bills. In Liberia, $2.7 million disappeared, according to the Red Cross. Read more