ECC deployed over hundred observers to monitor tallying of results

By Emmanuel wise Jipoh

A body responsible for monitoring electoral activities here, the Elections Coordinating Committee (ECC) says it deployed over a hundred observers across the country to monitor the 14 November 2023 presidential run-off results.

Votes are being tallied by the National Elections Commission (NEC) from the just-ended run-off following the voting exercise on Tuesday.

In a press conference Wednesday, the ECC assured the safety of votes, saying it has over a hundred observers, including 19 county coordinators and 146 observers assigned across national tallying centers.

It said it has observers at magisterial offices of the NEC to monitor the tallying of results that will allow transparency and fairness in the electoral process.

ECC Chairperson Cllr. Oscar Bloh, on behalf of the Committee, recommended that the NEC increase the frequency of pronouncement of preliminary results to at least twice a day to dispel doubts and spread of misinformation that has the propensity to undermine peace and stability.

Cllr. Bloh urged the Commission to publish results by polling places in an analyzable format that would foster transparency and increase its trust.

He also urged that the Commission allow election stakeholders to conduct -an in-depth analysis of the voting results.

The ECC Chairperson also cautioned political parties to refrain from claiming early – a victory that will interfere with the tallying process.

He noted that the ECC wants political parties expressing grievances on the outcome of the electoral results to channel them through the law and procedures outlined in the Constitution and provision of the NEC about the adjudication of electoral petitions.

Meanwhile, the ECC has called for calm as the NEC begins the announcement of provisional results.

Cllr. Bloh admonished Liberians to remain calm and resist being mobilized by political actors to get involved in violence.

In a related development, the ECC says it observed that 99% of the polling places across the country, both the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) and Unity Party (UP) agents approved and signed the results form before being published on the wall by NEC officials.

The ECC condemned violence during the election, disclosing that it recorded a relatively tense environment in Montserrado and Nimba Counties during the voting, closing, and counting processes, acknowledging minor disruptions of polling places by supporters of both parties contesting the run-off process.

The ECC said it observed tension at polling at the Esther Yalartai Academy with code 30442. 

The tension further extended and led to the disruption of the entire counting process for hours before calm was restored by the Liberia National Police (LNP).

The ECC also reported in its press conference that in Nimba County Electoral District #4 at the Dullay Public School with code 30052 in Polling place 03, a Voter Identification Officer name withheld, was seen allegedly voting multiple times. 

The UP agent called security to report the matter. 

The security then tried to arrest the voter identification officer, but the presiding officer intervened and told the security to leave the man because he would resolve the issue. 

As a result, the ECC said the UP agent refused to sign the Record of the Count Form.