By Precious D. Freeman
The Elections Coordinating Committee (ECC) has reported that applicants who are thought to be juveniles or underage were seen at the Biometric Voters Registration (BVR) grounds for registration in Grand Kru County.
The report stated that the Lutheran Church, with center code 18018, as well as others in the county, have been impacted by such incidents, the testimonies of the children’s parents, who served as witnesses and attested to their eligibility as required by the NEC’s regulation, led to the incidents.
The report added that the NEC Magistrate issued additional instructions to registrars to ask parents who visit the facility to certify the age of their children to sign a bond before proceeding with the registration in order to regulate the situation.
“Applicants were seen being trucked for the BVR phase two in Bong, Lofa, Nimba, and Grand Kru counties. Since the start of BVR phase two, candidates have engaged in open voter trucking, and neither the NEC nor the Ministry of Justice has taken any action to stop this serious electoral violation,” the ECC observers reported.
Mentioning the documented instances of trucking voters, ECC observers reported that Lofa electoral district one in Foya, at Sengar Palava hut with center code 21083 was seen trucking voters to the registration center orchestrated by Representative Thomas P. Fallah.
The group was intercepted by citizens who attempted to stop them from registering, which interfered with the registration process.
“At Bong electoral district three in the Meleki Town Hall with center code 06085, motorbikes and kehkeh were seen transporting applicants to the registration center. ECC observer received reports that this act was being financed by Representative Melvin Cole office in Monrovia,” the report said.
Speaking further, the report mentioned that Nimba electoral district five aspirant James Somah, was reported to have trucked applicants in a pickup from Ganta district 1 to Yao Lehpula, district 5 which resulted in a tragic motor accident leading to death of at least three persons, leaving several wounded.
“Nimba electoral district seven was reported that aspirant Musa Bility was involved with trucking of applicants to Saclepea who were non-inhabitants, Grand Kru County: ECC received reports of Electoral district one candidate Alfred Boe and Senate Pro-Tempore Albert Chea being allegedly involved with voter trucking in Grand Kru from Maryland and other areas of the country.”
The report also stated that during the observed period, they received reports of critical incidents involving equipment failure or malfunction and shortage in BVR cards; this caused the process to be significantly delayed in some cases and shut down for the full day in others.
“The affected centers’ names, area codes, and locations are; Bong electoral district 01-Palala Public School with center code 06046; Bong electoral district 02-MD Massaquoi high school with code 06238; Bong electoral district 06-Martha Tubman School with code: 06026; Bong electoral district 07-Kristen Marie high school with center code 06170 Lofa electoral district 01- and Fassapoe town hall, Foya with center code 21020.”
The ECC is Liberia’s largest domestic election observation network with diverse competencies, experiences, and expertise in democracy, elections, and governance established since 2010.
ECC’s members include the Center for Democratic Governance (CDG); Center for Media Studies and Peace Building (CEMESP); Center for Conflict Prevention and Peace building (CECPAP); Institute for Research and Democratic Development (IREDD); Naymote Partners for Democratic Development (NAYMOTE-PADD); West Africa Network for Peace Building (WANEP), and the Women NGO Secretariat of Liberia (WONGOSOL).
The ECC election observation effort is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). “The contents of this update are the responsibility of the ECC and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.
