ALCOD Observer Team arrives for Tuesday’s elections
-As Eminent Wettee Says Liberia Will Have a Free, Fair and Transplant Elections
A delegation from the All-Liberian Conference on Dual Citizenship (ALCOD), representing over 500,000 Liberians in the diaspora, has arrived in the country to join other observers, who have gathered in Liberia for the October 10, 2023 Presidential and Legislative Elections.
Liberians are expected to head to the polls on October 10 to elect a new President and Vice President, 73 members of the House of Representatives and 15 members of the Senate.
These elections have attracted a lot of observers, including foreigners, as it is the first post-war elections that are being fully funded and organized by Liberian themselves. Liberia has had three post-war elections, including 2005, 2011 and 2017 and all of them had been largely funded by the international community.
ALCOD’s delegates are going to join observers from the African Union, European Union, the United States, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and other observer delegations.
Members of the delegation include Liberians from the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. ALCOD delegation was duly accredited by the National Elections Commissions (NEC), just as it did other organizations.
ALCOD acknowledges the work of the Union of Liberian Associations in the Americas (ULAA) and other organizations, including but not limited to the Progressive Groups, University of Liberia, Student Unification Party (SUP), the Progressive Alliance of Liberia (PAL), Liberian People’s Party (LPP), the Movement of Justice in Africa (MOJA), Union organizations, Press Union of Liberia, religious leaders, market women, student organizations, diaspora Liberians and organizations, the people of Liberia and more in advocating for multi-party democracy in Liberia.
Founded in 1974, ULAA, one of the organizations making up, ALCOD, was an icon in advocating for multi-party democracy in Liberia for many, many years. Prior to the birth of ULAA in 1974, Liberia, Africa’s first independent Republic, had a one-party system, where everything in the political and governmental structures or platforms was controlled by one political party — True Whig Party (TWP).
[bsa_pro_ad_space id=1]
According to ALCOD’s distinguished Chairman, Eminent Emmanuel S. Wettee, the people of Liberia were very limited or remote in any electoral process for Presidential or Legislative elections. “In addition to achieving multi-party democracy in Liberia, ULAA in partnership with other immigration advocacy groups, advocated for Liberian immigrants in the United States of America to get their resident permit (Green Card) and later on becoming citizens of America. ULAA, in collaborations with diaspora organizations, lawmakers and executive branch of government and got Dual Citizenship as the law of the land in Liberia,” he said.
Eminent Wettee added that Liberia is going to hold a free, fair and transplant election on Tuesday.
”In today’s Liberia, the people are directly involved in all Presidential or Legislative election. Lawmakers are having open sessions, candidates are campaigning for their positions. The electoral process is opened to the people of Liberia and they can make their own decisions at the voting booth.
“For this ALCOD is thankful to all for having multi-party democratic systems and elections. The journey to this date was not easy, but we are thankful to God, Liberia now has a multi-party democratic system and the people of Liberia can vote in a free, fair and transparent election,” Eminent Chairman Wettee stated.
ALCOD is the advocacy consortium established by various national diaspora umbrella organizations, which include the Union of Liberian Associations in the Americas (ULAA), European Federation of Liberian Associations (EFLA), and Liberian Advocacy for Change (LAFC), Federation of Liberia Communities in Australia (FOLICA), United Liberian Association of Ghana (ULAG), Liberian Association of Canada (LAC), and Conference of Liberian Organizations in South-western United States of America (COLOSUS).
In 2012 under the leadership of President Gaye D. Sleh, Jr. of ULAA and the former Liberian Ambassador accredited to the United States, His Excellency Jeremiah Solunteh, diaspora Liberians met in Washington DC for a Diaspora conference on Dual Citizenship. The conference resolved to establish the All-Liberian Conference on Dual Citizenship (ALCOD). ULAA’s Eminent Person, Emmanuel S. Wettee, was elected as ALCOD Chairman.
