ALPO urges Liberians to wait for official poll results
Supporters of political parties in the country are being urged not to take to the streets but to patiently wait on the official poll results from the National Elections Commission (NEC). The Association of Liberian Professionals (ALPO) made the appeal in a statement dated 12 October and signed by its National Secretary-General Mr. Mark Collins Gibson.
ALPO, which is the umbrella organization of Liberian Professionals, wants parties’ supporters to remain calm and patiently wait for the official election results by the Chairman of NEC, Cllr. Jerome Korkoya to avoid confusion in the country.
ALPO says the call comes in the wake of similar situation that occurred during the 1985 general and presidential elections when the opposition Liberia Action Party (LAP) pronounced that it won the election but was cheated by former President Samuel K. Doe.
The document maintained that as a result of the LAP pronouncement, its supporters took to the streets claiming victory over the National Democratic Party of Liberia (NDPL). But ALPO says on the contrary, the NDPL of the late President Doe was officially declared as the winner of the election.
According to the organization, several persons sustained injuries when aggrieved supporters of LAP battled government security officers who attempted dispersing them from the streets.
The statement says the situation led to the arrest, intimidation and detention of some opposition candidates and their supporters reportedly charged with treason and inciting election violence.
The statement also urges supporters of political parties to desist from attacking their colleagues in the absence of the election results by the NEC which has the authority to pronounce results of the 2017 poll.
The organization calls on all stakeholders to put pressure on political parties leaders to stick to the Farmington Declaration which bind all political actors to ensure a peaceful and violence free election in Liberia.
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By Emmanuel Mondaye
By Emmanuel Mondaye–Edited by Winston W. Parley
