By Bill W. Cooper
Days after his accusation, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Observer Mission to the Presidential election in Liberia has described as completely ‘reckless and scurrilous’, the statement by Mo Ali accusing the Mission of receiving a bribe to declare Liberia’s run-off free and fair.
The Commission said, “The ECOWAS notes with regret, a reckless statement made by Mo Ali, National Campaign Spokesperson of the Unity Party, on his Facebook post on November 10, 2023, stating that the ECOWAS Observer Mission had been influenced by US$150,000 to declare a purportedly rigged election as transparent, free, and fair.”
Recently, Ali, in one of his Facebook posts, accused the ECOWAS Observers of having a meeting with the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC to discuss the run-off election and its outcome.
The Unity Party (UP) campaign Spokesperson, even though he failed to mention the ‘where or when’ the meeting was held, said, “At about this afternoon, the very top echelons of the CDC government met and discussed about the run-off election and its outcome.”
Mo continued, “In the meeting, they agreed that they can’t win against the UP. Hence, they want to prevail on the NEC commissioners to announce the result in their (CDC) favor. As part of the plan, they have disbursed US$150,000 to ECOWAS Delegates here to monitor the elections.”
“The money to the ECOWAS Delegates is intended to induce them to quickly endorse the fake results by stating that such rigged process was free, fair, and credible. We want to assure our people that this will be thwarted and their votes will be protected,” he added.
But in reaction to the assertion, via a press statement issued in Monrovia over the weekend, the Observers also warned that it takes strong exception to the ‘scurrilous’ statement, which puts at risk the safety and physical integrity of the ECOWAS Observers from across West Africa, who have come to accompany the good people of Liberia in this pivotal election.
The Mission, at the same time, challenges Mo Ali to prove his accusation or publicly withdraw it immediately, and tender an apology, stressing, “Failing this, the Observer and the ECOWAS Commission reserve the right to employ all necessary measures to hold him personally accountable for his utterance.”
The Mission also urged all Liberians to deepen the positive outcome of the October 10, 2023 elections by remaining focused in living up to their civic responsibilities towards the November 14, 2023 Presidential run-off.
The Mission maintained, “In this regard, the Mission counts on all Liberians to disregard such falsehoods perpetrated by individuals who may seek to derail the positive democratic gains made by Liberians.”
“We wish to assure all Liberians of our complete neutrality towards the contestants in the Tuesday, November 14 Presidential run-off poll, and we further reaffirm our commitment to a credible, inclusive, and peaceful electoral process, in accordance with our mandate under Articles 12 and 13 of the ECOWAS Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance,” the statement added.
