28 December 2017

LIBERIA MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

NEC Begins Announcing Runoff Results Today, Sources: Africa News, Daily Nation, Daily OBSERVER, and News Public Trust

The National Elections Commission (NEC) says it will today Thursday begin the announcement of provisional results of the December 26 presidential runoff election, held between Vice President Joseph Boakai of the ruling Unity Party (UP) and Senator George Weah of the main opposition Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC). The NEC says tally of votes started immediately following the close of the polls on the evening of Tuesday, December 26 across the country, and it is continuing. Read more

Liberia Votes: George Weah Leads VP Boakai in Preliminary Results, Source: FrontPage Africa

The progressive tally of votes from Tuesday’s runoff presidential election in Margibi County has placed Senator George Weah of the main opposition Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) in a lead ahead of Vice President Joseph Boakai of the ruling Unity Party (UP).

The National Elections Commission (NEC) Magisterial Office in Kakata Wednesday began tallying votes in the presence of political parties observers, international observers, and the media.

The progressive counting of votes from 160 polling places out of 382 polling gave Senator Weah 24,054 constituting 65.6% ahead of Vice President Boakai with 12,606 constituting 34.4% of the total 36,660 votes (41.88%).  Read more

‘Runoff Credible, Transparent’ -AU, ECOWAS, Sources: Daily OBSERVER and FrontPage Africa

The election observer missions of the AU and ECOWAS have described the December 26 presidential runoff election held between the ruling Unity Party (UP) of Vice President Joseph Boakai and the main opposition Coalition of Democratic Change (CDC) of Senator George Weah as credible and was conducted in line with international standards.

“On the whole, the processing of voters and the casting of ballots followed acceptable standards and were in accordance with the laws and procedures governing elections in the country. The improved management of the voting process, the greater familiarity of polling agents and voters with the process, and the vastly reduced number of candidates on the ballot paper, ensured a speedy turnover, with each voter needing about a minute to complete the process, the former Ghanaian President, John Dramani Mahama, the head of the ECOWAS Election Observation Mission (EOM) said.

At a joint press conference with the head of mission of the AU observer team, Erastus Mwencha, President Mahama noted that the counting processes at the polling places were conducted transparently and professionally in the presence of parties agents and some local observers. Read more

ECOWAS Urges Weah And Boakai To Graciously Accept Polls Results -AU emphasizes need for smooth transition, Sources: News Public Trust and The New Dawn

The head of the ECOWAS Observation Mission to Liberia, former Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama on Wednesday implored the two contenders in Liberia’s presidential runoff election — Senator George Weah of the main opposition Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) and Vice President Joseph Boakai of the ruling Unity Party (UP) — “to accept the verdict of the ballot box.”

President Mahama called on them to seek redress through available legal instruments in the event they have grievances, as he said the winner will be known in hours rather than days since it’s only two contestants.

“The Mission specifically congratulates the members and staff of the NEC for measures taken to correct the shortcomings observed during the first round of the election and for the professionalism demonstrated throughout the runoff presidential election,” the former Ghanaian President said at a news conference in Monrovia on Wednesday. Read more

WANEP/LEEWARG Release First Election Situation Report, Source: FrontPage Africa

The Liberia Early Warning and Response group (LEEWARG) has released its first election situation report, which points to the slow turnout of voters, the late opening of some polling places, and effectiveness of queue controller as part of its initial observation.

The West Africa Network for Peace Building (WANEP), in collaboration with its partners, on Tuesday, resumed the operations of the “Liberia Elections Early Warning and Response Group (LEEWARG) Election Situation Room in order to monitor the presidential runoff Election.

The co-chairperson of the LEEWARG, Ambassador William Tolbert, III, said that there were some improvements in the voting process but added that there were hitches at other centers across the country. According to Ambassador Tolbert, voters’ turnout was generally low in all the centers monitored. Read more

53rd Legislature Closes Today; 54th Seated In 11 Days, Source: Daily OBSERVER

The Daily Observer reports that today Thursday, the ‘Daily Sessions’ of the 6th Session of the House of Representatives and the Senate will come to an eventual end, which also terminates the ‘Daily Sessions’ of the 53rd Legislature. According to Rule 2 of the Rules and Procedures of the Legislature, sessions are held on Tuesdays and Thursdays of each week, while Mondays and Wednesdays are set aside for committee meetings, with Fridays for constituency business.

Members of the House of Representatives and the Senate should have had their last Daily Sessions on Thursday, 31 August 2017 but President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf issued a Proclamation extending the 6th Session of the 53rd Legislature for a period of four months, beginning September 1 and ending on December 31. Despite the end of the Daily Sessions, the 53rd Legislature will formally be dissolved on Monday, 8 January 2018. Read more

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA ON LIBERIA

UN chief commends peaceful vote in Liberia, dispatches Nigeria's Obasanjo, Sources: UN News Centre, Vanguard, and Xinhua

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Wednesday welcomed the peaceful conduct of the second round of the presidential election in Liberia and announced he is sending former Nigerian leader Olusegun Obasanjo to support the country in the first peaceful transfer of power from one democratically-elected leader to another in more than 70 years.

“The Secretary-General hopes that the will of the Liberian electorate will be respected and that a seamless transfer power will take place within constitutional timelines,” his spokesperson said in a statement. Mr. Guterres has requested Mr. Obasanjo, who is a member of the Secretary-General's High-Level Advisory Board on Mediation, to travel to the capital, Monrovia, from 28 to 30 December. Read more

Monitors commend Liberia over organization of presidential runoff vote, Sources: Africa News and Reuters

 

Election monitors from the National Democratic Institute (NDI) said the Liberian run-off elections on Tuesday (December 26) were better organized than in the first round. Liberia went to the polls on Tuesday for a presidential election that voters hope will mark the country’s first democratic transfer of power in over seven decades, despite it being tarnished by allegations of fraud. Former world footballer of the year George Weah is squaring up against vice president Joseph Boakai, with both men promising a break with a heritage of poverty and corruption in a country where most citizens have no reliable electricity or clean drinking water. Read more

George Weah claims he is set to win Liberia's presidential election, Sources: Daily Mail and The Telegraph

Former football player George Weah's campaign said on Wednesday that he was on course to win Liberia's presidential election run-off in the country's first democratic transfer of power in more than seven decades. Nearly 2.2 million voters are choosing between the 51-year-old Mr. Weah and 73-year-old Joseph Boakai, the current vice president. The winner will replace Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who is stepping down after two terms. Mr. Boakai's camp said the contest was still too close to call ahead of the first official results, expected as early as Thursday. Unofficial partial results announced on local radio stations all showed Mr. Weah in the lead. Read more

UN Refugee Agency denies claims by ex-Liberian refugees in Ghana, Source: Xinhua

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) on Wednesday denied reports that former Liberian refugees are entitled to continued protection in Ghana.

Early this month, some Liberian refugees were seen picketing outside the offices of the UNHCR in Accra, demanding that they be given some relief packages and relocated to different countries, following a demolition exercise at their camp at Budumbura in the Central Region of Ghana, where they previously lived. According to the UNHCR, following the conflict in Liberia between 1989 and 2003, some 40,000 Liberian refugees found safety and hospitality in Ghana.

Among the durable solutions made available to them, voluntary repatriation and local integration were proposed, as well as resettlement to third countries for the few most vulnerable families, and only when the two solutions were not possible. 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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