LIBERIA ELECTION EXPOSES ECSL IRREGULLARITIES
John kelly Marah
Liberia, a country with a population of about 5 million, located in West Africa, on October 10, 2023, went to the polls to elect a President, 15 Senators and 73 Legislators to the House of Representatives. This marks an important milestone in the country’s democratic history, and the third elections since the end of the civil war. The election also saw a record number of female candidates running for office, reflecting a growing demand for gender equality in the country. The large turnout of voters is said to be among the highest in the country’s history. The election has been declared relatively speaking, free and fair, in which George Weah (the incumbent) of Congress For Democratic Change (CDC)) party was beaten by Joseph Boakai of the Unity Party (UP). According to the National Election Commission of Liberia, out of 99.58% of ballot counted, Joseph Boaki led with 50.89%, while George Weah bagged 49.11%, automatically making Joseph Boaki the President of Liberia, in accordance with the country’s Constitutional provision, which stipulates 50% as the threshold for winning the Presidential seat.
In contrast to Sierra Leone’s June 24th Election, where the Constitution provides a 55% threshold for winning the Presidential seat, which President Bio is alleged to have won by a small margin of 1%; a result that has been hugely disputed because of the absence of transparency in the tabulation process, condemned by both international and local election observers. Many Sierra Leoneans believe that their aspirations were betrayed by the country’s Electoral Commissioner. The opposition party refused to accept the results announced by the ECSL, describing the swearing in of Bio as illegitimate and that the election was stolen from them by the ruling SLPP government. A Report by the European Union confirmed that the elections processes lacked transparency and credibility, especially in the area of tabulation of the results.
The failure of the ECSL to publish the disaggregated data by polling stations, as demanded by all parties, to ensure verification, remains a stigma that will continue to hunt the Electoral Commissioner for a long time to come. Unlike Sierra Leone, the Liberian Electoral Commissioner took the bold step to declare a run-off when it was clear in the first round of voting that no party had 50%. Unfortunately, in Sierra Leone, a local election observer: The National Election Watch (NEW), who has huge observer presence across the country, in their findings, declared that no party reached the threshold for a first round victory, and that a run-off should take place. Also the Carter Centre and other international observers expressed strong concerns regarding the lack of transparency during the tabulation process, and this formed the basis for the main opposition party and Sierra Leoneans calling for the Publication of the disaggregated data by polling station from which the ECSL arrived at the results that it announced, so as to give citizens and all parties the opportunity to verify the votes and the eventual results announced.
Unfortunately, the concerns and observations of the body and other international bodies were overlooked, and the Electoral Commissioner went on to announce victory for Bio, which eventually led to the main opposition party boycotting Parliament. This stalemate was only addressed through a dialogue organized by the Commonwealth, ECOWAS, AU and Sierra Leone’s Peace Commission, so as to avert an existing Constitutional crisis, which could have rendered the country into a one-party state.
A Pro-Democracy Activist, Lawyer Augustine Sorie Sengbe Marrah, also made applications to the ECSL; for the provision of the said data, to no avail, and after taking all the necessary steps to get the ECSL to comply with his request, he took the matter to the Supreme Court, which threw out his application on grounds of Court Procedures not being followed to the letter.
Many Sierra Leoneans say that the Liberian people have taught their country lessons in democracy, and George Weah’s graceful bowing out of power and honoring of the will of his people has been highly commended., and described as brilliant Statesmanship on his part.