By E. J. Nathaniel Daygbor in Monrovia
Three political parties that participated in the Liberian presidential and representatives elections say the National Elections Commission (NEC) and the President of Liberia, Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf have lost their credibility during these elections.
The National Chairman of the governing Unity Party along with the opposition Liberty Party and the All Liberian Party said President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and the board of commissioners of the National Elections Commission head by Chairman Jerome George Korkoya have also lost public confidence.
Unity Party Chairman Wilmot Paye stated that the National Elections Commission cannot conduct any free, fair and transparent presidential runoff election in the wake of increasing and disturbing reports of alleged massive fraud. He added that there has to be a credible process to ensure a credible outcome.
Speaking at a joint press conference at the Unity Party Headquarters on Sunday afternoon, October 29, the day which is President Johnson Sirleaf’s 79th birthday, Paye said, “We cannot accept why and how, even with total opposition from all political parties and key actors, the National Elections Commission allowed individuals whose names did not appear on the so-called Final Registration Roll (FRR) to vote. This idea was rejected right from the onset.”
The Unity Party expressed its solidarity with the Liberty Party and all opposition parties that are crying fraud, “Today, we reaffirm our stated solidarity with the Liberty Party and all other political parties and candidates that feel offended and have strong reasons to believe that the October 10, 2017 polls were characterized by massive systematic irregularities and fraud.
The UP’s Chairman, who appeared angry, explains that in furtherance of the solidarity, and also considering the overwhelming evidence of fraud that continues to emerge, the respective political parties have resolved to pursue this matter to a logical legal conclusion as quickly as permissible under Liberian Law. He noted that they will leave no stones unturned.
“But notwithstanding this legal pursuit, we cannot ignore the fact that many more startling revelations continue to emerge, thus further corroborating growing allegations that massive fraud occurred during the October 10, 2017 polls,” he stated.
He maintained that the current trend in our electoral process is certainly not what Liberians and the international partners had invested in so heavily and expected to see in Africa’s oldest republic. This is not what was expected toward the close of the stewardship of the continent’s first ever-elected woman Head of State.
“We and our partners invested in peace and stability and therefore expected that a credible outcome from this year’s elections would only help to solidify Liberia’s recovery from long periods of instability. Instead, greed has resurfaced in its most callous form, sowing seeds of discord yet again with the intent of disrupting the fragile peace of Liberia. We cannot and will not tolerate this unacceptable course,” he intimated.
According to him, Liberians must rise up in order to save the greatly endowed nation from the shackles of greed. Liberians and the world cannot afford yet another unwarranted period of instability, he stressed.
“We are under no illusion that President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has so much to be grateful for: twelve (12) years of quiet and uninterrupted stewardship in spite of the scathing effects of corruption and waste, nepotism, poverty and selective application of justice and the rule of law. After seventeen decades as a sovereign country, this is not what Liberia and its people deserve from a president this privileged,” he said.
Responding to the joint press statement, the Coalition for Democracy Change National Chairman, Mr. Nathaniel McGill said his party would not consider anything that looks like rerun of the presidential election.
McGill added that the peace and stability of the state rest on the shoulders of the Supreme Court, and any trouble, the members of the supreme bench would be liable.
According to him, the will of the Liberian people should be respected and the electoral law and the Constitution shall be held in high esteemed.
