By Naneka Hoffman
The Elections Coordinating Committee of Liberia has advanced five-count recommendations aimed at curbing hate speech and electoral violence in order to conduct free, fair and transparent elections come October.
Speaking at a press conference over the weekend, the Chairman of the committee, Counselor Oscar Bloh, said following the observation of campaign rallies over the last two weeks, the ECC encourages the Liberia National Police to inform the public on the outcome of its investigation of the August 10, 2023, electoral violence in District Nine, Montserrado County between supporters of the Coalition for Democratic Change and the Unity Party.
The ECC calls on all political parties and candidates, including their supporters to publicly condemn the destruction and defacing of campaign posters and billboards. and to refrain from acts of violence.
It also wants political parties and candidates to refrain from training militants as private security and to instead, rely on the Police to provide protection during these elections.
According to Cllr. Bloh, the ECC’s electoral campaign update contains comprehensive information on the observation of campaign events/rallies held by political parties or candidates in the counties and districts over a two-week period (August 5–19, 2023).
“It also includes media engagement and activities observed. For the first two weeks of the campaign, ECC received 72 reports about events and rallies related to the campaign.” He added.
According to him, observers witnessed 58 events/rallies hosted by political parties and candidates, during this period and these events and rallies were hosted by a variety of political parties and independent candidates, with the CDC and UP candidates reportedly organizing the most political gatherings.
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Counselor Bloh explained that observers noticed that parties and candidates had constructed billboards and posted campaign flyers or stickers across the counties and electoral districts, saying “29 of the 58 campaign events that were observed had national security forces present, while 20 of the 58 reports show a significant use of unofficial security.”
He said there were instances where traditional and religious leaders used their influence to support a particular candidate or political party.
The statement admonished political parties and candidates to encourage their supporters to remain calm and peaceful during the campaign period.
Meanwhile, the ECC received one incident from Sinoe County electoral district 02, where the district superintendent allegedly threatened local government leaders, informing them that they would lose their jobs if they did not support the CDC.
However, the ECC among other things recommended that candidates and their supporters refrain from the act of buying voters’ cards and distribution of cash during the campaign.
The ECC revealed that during the exercise it received nine reports from Bomi, Grand Gedeh, Nimba, Margibi, Maryland, and Sinoe counties in the first two weeks of the campaign regarding influence of traditional and religious authorities. Editing by Jonathan Browne
