28 September 2017

 


LIBERIA MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

 

US Signs Resolution With Liberia -Condemns Taylor’s Interference in Liberia’s Elections, Source: FrontPage Africa

 

The US Senate this week passed a resolution reaffirming the United States-Liberia partnership and calling for free, fair, and peaceful elections in October. At the same time, the Senate resolved to condemn any external interference in the elections, including any communication or action former Liberian President Charles Taylor to influence the elections from prison. The Senate’s concern about Taylor’s interference with the upcoming elections arose out of comments made by his ex-wife, Senator Jewel Howard Taylor, vice presidential candidate of the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) during a campaign trail in Nimba County that she would bring Mr. Taylor’s agenda back on the table if the CDC is elected to political power.

 

“Former President Taylor is not involved in Liberian politics, but I believe the NPP he created is a grass root party that made promises to its citizens since 1997. Because of what happened in our government and the abrupt closure and arrest of President Taylor, we were not able to fulfill those promises; but the NPP is now strong and so we want to call upon all the NPP stalwarts across the length and breadth of Liberia to come on board and help us win these elections, we’ll put that agenda back on the table,” Senator Taylor said in Saclepea.

 

Meanwhile, the US-Liberia Partnership Resolution encourages President Donald Trump to appoint an Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs to bolster diplomatic engagement with the Liberia government, electoral stakeholders, and civil society as well as robustly engage with other sub-Saharan African countries.

 

NEC Begins Distribution of Ballots October 2, Source: FrontPage Africa

 

The National Elections Commission (NEC) will begin the distribution of ballot papers to the leeward counties from 2-3 October beginning with Sinoe County. The papers will be dispatched by land, sea, and air.

 

“We are pleased to report that UNMIL has graciously agreed to airlift electoral materials to the following hard-to-reach areas. These areas are Gbarpolu, Lofa, Nimba, Grand Gedeh, Grand Kru, Maryland and River Gee Counties. The Commission is grateful to UNMIL for this kind and timely intervention. The Commission is also grateful to the Government of Japan and the UNDP for supporting the deployment of election security officers,” NEC chairman Cllr. Jerome Korkoya said.

 

Of the 15 counties, only Sinoe County ballots will be transported by sea. Bomi (Tubmanburg), Bong (Gbarnga and Totota), Grand Bassa (Buchanan), Grand Cape Mount (Robertsport), Margibi (Kakata), Nimba (Sanniquellie), (Voinjama), Montserrado (Bensonville and Brewerville) and Rivercess (Cestos) will be transported by road.

 

Areas that will have their ballots transported by helicopter include Grand Gedeh (Zwedru), Grand Kru (Barclayville), Lofa (Kolahun), Maryland (Harper), Nimba (Tappita), and River Gee (Fishtown).

 

Korkoya Explains Excess Presidential Ballots, Source: Daily OBSERVER

 

National Elections Commission (NEC) chairman Jerome Korkoya Wednesday clarified the commission’s decision to bring in excess presidential ballots for the October 10 elections. Cllr. Korkoya’s explanation was in response to comments and questions from the public regarding the commission’s decision to bring into the country an excess of presidential ballots.

 

At the eighth edition of the NEC’s regular elections press briefing in Monrovia, Korkoya said the commission’s decision to bring in over three million ballots for the presidential elections is not in violation of any election law, neither is it against international standards.

 

The NEC last Saturday received 3,053,435 presidential ballots printed by a Slovenian company.

 

NEC Takes Regional Voter Education …To Grand Gedeh, Source: The NEWS

 

The National Elections Commission (NEC) will today Thursday launch its Civic and Voter Education (CVE) regional consultation in Zwedru, Grand Gedeh County. The regional CVE consultation is in keeping with NEC’s responsibility to educate stakeholders about processes and procedures relative to the upcoming elections.

 

The Commission said citizens’ sensitization about the elections is critical to ensuring free, fair, and transparent process, something he said the Commission is committed to doing. Already, the electoral body has launched its regional CVE in Bomi, Bong, and Grand Bassa counties.

 

Weah, Others Strategize For Run-Off Election, Source: The NEWS

 

The News reports that the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) has begun putting in place strategies with three other political parties to ensure that the opposition wins the upcoming October elections. The Liberty Party (LP), Alternative National Congress (ANC), and the Movement for Democracy and Reconstruction (MDR) are part of the negotiation that resulted in the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

 

According to the MOU, member opposition political parties to the agreement will, amongst themselves, campaign in an atmosphere of mutual respect; freed of castigations and character assassinations. “That in the event an opposition political party, who is a signatory to this Memorandum of Understanding, qualifies for a runoff presidential election against the ruling Unity Party, the other opposition political parties to this Memorandum of Understanding, shall support the qualified opposition political party in all manners and forms that are legal and expedient,” the document indicated.

 

‘Give Us Liberia’s Mandate’ …Cummings Urges Liberians, Source: The NEWS

 

Presidential candidate Alexander Cummings of the Alternative National Congress (ANC) is calling on Liberians to vote for his party for private sector growth and prosperity. Mr. Cummings speaking Wednesday when he appeared on a local radio talk show stressed: “Give us the mandate to change our country and we can do that. We have been tested and proved ourselves.” He said it is time for Liberians to elect people with different experiences and the ANC is the best choice for Liberia.

 

Members of EU Parliament Discuss Elections With Senator Weah, Sources: FrontPage Africa and The NEWS

 

The media reports that Senator George Weah, presidential candidate of the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) paid a courtesy visit on leaders of the EU Parliament in Brussels. The meeting was centered on the conduct of a free, fair, and transparent election, peace and stability in Liberia, the promotion of true tenets of democracy, and the need to further strengthen the longstanding partnership between Liberia and the EU.

 

During the visit, Senator Weah met with the president of the EU Parliament, Antonio Tajani,  Anna Fotya, chairperson on security and defense at the EU Parliament, Gianni Pittella, president of the Progressive Alliance of Socialist and Democrat at the EU Parliament, and Syed Kamall, co-chairman of the European Conservative and Reformist.

 

At the meeting, the CDC presidential candidate stressed the importance of an EU election monitoring team to ensure that the upcoming elections in October are free, fair, and transparent. Senator Weah also assured the EU parliamentary leaders that Liberia's relationship with the European body will be further strengthened if he is elected as president of Liberia, and assured them of the CDC's unequivocal commitment to a violent free election in October.

 

Representative Corneh Accused of Instigating Electoral Violence, Source: FrontPage Africa

 

A group, under the banner team MUKA in support of the representative bid of Kerkulah Muka Kamara, has accused Montserrado County Electoral District #14 Representative Abraham Corneh of instigating electoral violence and injuring two of its members. But Representative Corneh has denied the allegations, terming it as a mere tactic intended to obscure the facts.

 

In a press statement issued 26 September, the group alleged that on the orders of Representative Corneh, his supporters attacked and wounded their colleagues and physically humiliated their chairman while on a campaign trail on Sunday in the Doe Community in Monrovia.

 

Soccer Legends Turn Their Backs on George Weah’s Presidential Bid, Source: Daily OBSERVER

 

A spokesperson for Unity Party (UP) Soccer Legends, Dionysius Sebwe, told journalists Wednesday in Monrovia that it is incumbent upon “all of us as citizens to choose the right leader for this country based on qualification, competence, experience, and maturity,” when they declared their support to UP presidential candidate, Vice President Joseph Boakai.

 

Sebwe, who played alongside George Weah, James Debbah, among other Liberian soccer professionals, said the decision to vote for a presidential aspirant must not be based on friendship, popularity and certainly not on tribal or ethnic affiliation.

 

“We must at this juncture of our democracy sustain the gains we’ve made collectively as a people despite our fundamental differences,” the soccer legend said. According to Mr. Sebwe, they are of the belief that Mr. Boakai can develop sports, particularly soccer, in Liberia.

 

Representative Dunah ‘Not Sure of Decriminalizing Anti-Free Speech Bill Passage’, Source: Daily OBSERVER

 

The chairman of the House Committee on the Judiciary says he does not see the possibility for the current lawmakers to pass President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s bill decriminalizing offenses that are against free speech, particularly libel. Representative Worlea Saywah Dunah said the reason is that the law provides some technical issues that need enough time for discussion. He said the President’s bill appeared ‘very late’ to the lawmakers, and that there are some loopholes that require discussion before passing it into law.

 

Representative Dunah made the statement Wednesday in Monrovia when he severed as one of the panelists at the 21st Edition of the Wilfred E. Clarke Forum on Social Justice and the Rule of Law, organized by the Liberian National Law Enforcement Agency.

 

Government Blasts LRA …Reverses Decision To Shut Down Logging Firms, Source: The NEWS

 

The Liberian government has reversed the “wrong and unilateral decision” by the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) to close down some logging companies recently for their failure to satisfy their tax obligations. In a press release signed by information minister Eugene Nagbe Monday, the government described the LRA’s decision as wrong and undermines macroeconomic stability” without taking into consideration the issues facing the logging sector.

 

According to the release, the LRA was part of an Economic Management Team (EMT) meeting chaired by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf during which major policy decisions were made in order to bring relief to the business community as the economy is going through a challenging period of slow recovery and balance of payments pressure.

 

512,000 New Dwellings Needed to Address Liberia’s Housing Needs, Source: Daily OBSERVER

 

The coordinator of the National Housing Authority-Slum Upgrading Unit (NHA-SUU), Es-Samir Bropleh says Liberia needs 512,000 new dwellings by 2030 to address the country’s housing needs, especially greater Monrovia. Mr. Bropleh made the assertion Wednesday at the official launch of the NHA-SUU Upgrading Unit and Innovative Design Competition at the NHA office in Monrovia. He said 1,974 housing units have been constructed since the establishment of the NHA in 1960. According to Bropleh, 70 percent of Monrovia’s population lives in slums under devastating housing conditions.

 

Missing Man Found Dead - Police Investigates Mysterious Death, Source: FrontPage Africa

 

The Police have discovered the decomposed body of McArthur Jinlack barely a week after he went missing in the Virginia community outside Monrovia. The body of Jinlack, according to a family source, was reportedly discovered in a lagoon near the Hotel Africa vicinity in Virginia, the same area where he went missing on Saturday, 23 September.

 

Police spokesperson Sam Collins confirmed the discovery of the deceased’s body and said the police have launched an investigation. Five persons who were reported to have been with the deceased at the time he went missing are said to still be undergoing investigation at the Police Crime Services Division.

 

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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