ALP raises red flag
The opposition All Liberian Party or ALP of businessman turned politician Benoni W. Urey has challenged recent comments by the Chairman of the National Elections Commission or NEC, Jerome George Korkoya that the public should not worry if their names were not found on the provisional voter’s roll exhibition, as anyone with a valid voter’s ID card would vote in the October 10th, describing the statement as “problematic, scaring and frustrating.”
The recent provisional voter’s roll exhibition exercise across the country was clouded with errors with names and photographs of registered voters omitted; leaving eligible voters panicking for fear that they may not be allowed to vote on polling day. But Chairman Korkoya assures that everyone with a valid voter’s ID card will vote, provoking public criticism here that the comment could create serious floodgate as many persons, including foreigners illegally obtained voter’s cards during the voter registration process, and may seize this opportunity to vote.
Critics stress the need for creditable voter’s roll ahead of the October’s elections to ensure transparency and credibility in the process. Speaking during the Montserrado County Primaries of the ALP at the party national headquarters in Monrovia, National Chairman Theodore Momoh says the statement is problematic, scaring and frustrating, urging Cllr. Korkoya and his team to understand that the elections are cardinal to the peace and stability of Liberia.
“There is a typical issue around town I like to talk about and that concerns the voters’ registration process. Recently, the Chairman of the National Election Commission announced to the Liberian people that once you possess a valid registration ID card or a valid card, whether the voter’s roll has problem or not you will still vote. The ALP has serious problem with this statement. It is problematic, it is scaring, it is frustrating and we like to urge Hon. Jerome Korkoya and his team to understand that these elections are cardinal to peace and stability in our country”, Chairman Momoh notes.
He continues that if the voter’s roll is erroneous, then the voter’s ID card too is of no essence, maintaining that the NEC must ensure that the voter’s registrar, which is the authenticity of the voting record, is corrected and posted before polling day for citizens to verify that the errors are corrected before time. Stressing the need to conduct credible elections which result everyone would accept, he cautions that nothing should be done to impede the credibility of the polls.
By Ramsey N. Singbeh, Jr. in Margibi-Editing by Jonathan Browne
