The ECOWAS Commission Observation Mission has called on the Liberian National Elections Commission (LNEC) to diligently and urgently work on ensuring the timely and transparent release of results to defuse any potential tension that may arise from long waits for results.
The Head of the ECOWAS Observation Mission, Professor Attahiru Jega, made the call in his report on preliminary conclusions made available last night.
The mission emphasised the need for the legislature and other critical stakeholders in the country to consider the review of relevant portions of the Liberian Constitution and electoral law to allow elections to be held during the dry season.
According to the mission, allowing elections to be held in the dry season would enable election workers and materials to reach hard-to-reach destinations more efficiently.
The mission noted that there were challenges associated with infrastructure and their impact on the smooth conduct of the elections. He urged the government to implement measures to improve infrastructure conditions.
While acknowledging that the polling process generally proceeded smoothly and peacefully, it noted that long queue congestion at voting precincts and the slow pace of the process led to some voters expressing frustration.
The mission recommended a reform in the election laws to reduce the number of voters per polling unit, while considering the resources needed for this reform to address congestion and long queues.
It said: “The sense of patriotism exhibited by polling staff, security forces, and the populace, who collectively played their parts in ensuring a peaceful conduct of the 2023 general elections.”
The mission expressed its continuing obligation to closely monitor the concluding phases of the electoral process, particularly the aggregation, collation, and release of results from the counties, and the national declaration of preliminary results. It stated that it will make further pronouncements should the need arise.
The mission highly commended the vast majority of the electorate for their patience and the sense of patriotism they exhibited and hoped for the same maturity to be displayed while awaiting the official announcement of the results by the Liberia National Elections Commission.
