LLC calls for peaceful runoff with a caveat

The Liberia Labor Congress (LLC) is calling on aggrieved parties to the runoff election and other concerned citizens to remain peaceful and law abiding ahead of the controversial runoff presidential election.

“We welcomed the holding of the runoff election with the hope that the National Elections Commission will respect the mandate and implement the modification made by the Supreme Court which includes the cleanup of the final voter roll to ensure transparency and integrity in the process,” LLC Secretary General David Sackoh says in a release.

He emphasizes that a free, fair and peaceful election in Liberia borders on the cleaning up of the voter roll to the satisfaction of the two political parties in the runoff. The LLC says it is impressed by the ruling of the Supreme Court and the modification made in which the National Elections Commission was mandated to implement before the run off.

The LLC statement comes in the wake of a communication from NEC requesting the workers’ organization to observe the upcoming runoff election.“The Congress has developed indicators to measure the performance of the incoming government. The indicators are focusing on the social-economic wellbeing as well as the working environment of Liberian workers,” he says.

According to Mr. Sackloh, the need for the incoming government to be responsive and accountable to all Liberians and ensure reform in state owned institutions to provide the needed services to the marginalized and suffering majority including the disabled cannot be over emphasized.

He says the result of the runoff election might not end Liberians’ suffering as a people, urging that “we” must try to work hard in other to use the opportunity and lessons learned in the recent pasts as an opportunity and lead way for reform in the corrupt political and electoral system that undermine development and kept Liberians backward for many years.

For the incoming government to move forward with reshaping the social-economic and political landscape of Liberia, LLC says it wishes to urge that as a matter of priorities, decent work and living wages, view of decent work act, regular electricity and water supply, decent and affordable housing, establishment of the minimum wage board in the first 100 days must be considered.

The LLC notes that reliable and affordable public transport, review of concession agreements, negotiations of concession agreement must be tripartite inclusive, adding that review of the decent work act, employment of Liberian Seafarer, restoration of basic human and social economic rights of public sector workers to formulate themselves into trade union with bargaining rights, among others.–Press statement