NEC confirms 4,000 duplicated names

National Elections Commission (NEC) Chairman Cllr. Jerome George Korkoya says prior to the ruling of the Supreme Court this month, the Commission had earlier verified the voter listing and discovered over 4,000 duplicated names and has reportedly removed them.

The NEC Boss made the disclosure Friday, 15 December when the NEC’s Board of Commissioners and the two designated political parties due to meet in a presidential runoff commenced strategic brainstorming on how the Final Roll Registration (FRR) could best be cleaned up for before the election due 26 December.

He also says ECOWAS technical team on election has regularly visited the technical department to smoothen things if needed, adding that the team has given its findings which allegedly indicates that the listing meets international standard.

The meeting at NEC headquarters in Sinkor brought together officials of the ruling Unity Party (UP) and opposition Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC), the two parties qualified for the 26 December presidential runoff. The NEC provided update on the progress made by the electoral house during the meeting.

The Supreme Court early this month mandated the Commission to properly cleanup the FRR at the end of an alleged elections fraud and irregularities case filed by third – time defeated opposition presidential candidate Cllr. Charles Walker Brumskine and his Liberty Party and supported by the ruling UP.

On December 11, the Special Representative of the President of ECOWAS Commission to Liberia, Ambassador Babatunde Olanrewaju Ajisomo, disclosed that modalities are being worked out to ensure that the regional body is involved in the cleanup of the controversial FRR ahead of the expected runoff election.

It can be recalled that the integrity of the FRR was called into question by the parties in their complaint to the Supreme Court. Although the Supreme Court did not concur with the political parties’ prayer to annul the entire results based on the alleged widespread fraud and irregularities, the Court nevertheless ruled that the FRR be cleaned-up as a necessary prerequisite to the holding of the runoff election.

By E. J. Nathaniel Daygbor–Edited by Winston W. Parley