Barely three months before the December 08, 2020 special senatorial elections, the National Elections Commission (NEC) has finally released calendar of events leading to the polls that are to set the stage for presidential election in 2023, with candidates’ nomination process kicking off here today, Tuesday, September 1st.
All 15 political sub-divisions of the country are expected to go to the poll to elect 15 of the 30 senators at the Capitol. The elections will be second of its kind since the coming to force of the 1986 Constitution of Liberia, which gives raise to holding of special senatorial elections.
The board of commissioners of the National Elections Commission headed by its Chairperson Davidetta Browne Lansanah announces some events leading to the much discussed 2020 Special Senatorial Elections.
In a statement issued in Monrovia late Sunday, the NEC says aspirants wanting to participate in the 2020 Special Senatorial Elections (SSE) that candidates’ nomination process starts today, Tuesday, September 1, 2020 and will end on Monday, September 21, 2020 at the headquarters of the commission in Sinkor.
All applicants wishing to be nominated will have to appear in person during the nomination period, at the nomination center and comply with the NEC nomination procedures.
NEC says a nominating political party, coalition, or alliance must have headquarters in Monrovia and in the capital of the county in which it wishes to nominate an aspirant to contest.
The commission also requires that an aspirant, whether nominated by a political party, coalition, or alliance or applying independently must meet the candidate eligibility criteria, including fulfilling application requirements; appear in person for the nomination at the NEC Candidate Nomination Center, be a citizen of Liberia, and present proof of his/her Liberian citizenship; must have attained the age of thirty (30) years; be domiciled in the county in which he/she wishes to contest for not less than one (1) year prior to the election; and be a taxpayer.
Meanwhile, the NEC says the date for both the Special Senatorial Election (SSE) and the constitutional Referendum remain the same, Tuesday, December 8, 2020.
At the same time the commission reminds the pubic that the Voter Roll Update process will be mobile; meaning, the Commission’s team of registrars will move in sequence from one center to another within 15 days of the process.
The restructured NEC, which is headed by a new board of commissioners recently appointed by President George Manneh Weah emphasizes that each Team will spend only three days at each of the 2080 Registration Centers across the Country.
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“Each Team will cover a maximum of four Centers. A Team will be led by a Supervisor. The rest are a Registrar, Clerk, Shadier, and Photographer. The NEC is urging all Liberians of voting age, including those who have turned 18yrs and above, those who have relocated from their previous voting places to another, those who have lost their voting cards, and those who did not register during the last voter registration in 2017, to turn out to update their voting records from Friday September 11-Friday September 25, 2020,” a statement issued by the commission details.
By E. J. Nathaniel Daygbor
