The Liberian Senate has asked President-elect Amb. Joseph Nyumah Boakai and his deputy, Jeremiah Koung to design and implement policies to heal the nation following an election that has divided the country.
Delivering a special statement on behalf of the Liberian Senate on Tuesday, 21 November 2023, Senate President Pro-Tempore Albert T. Chie said Liberia has sustained wounds by the rigors and rhetoric of the electoral process.
He also cited an evenly divided country that has witnessed an almost 50-50 Presidential Elections result.
“We urge both of them to design and implement policies to heal the nation which has sustained wounds by the rigors and rhetoric of the electoral process and an evenly divided country which has witnessed an almost 50-50 Presidential Elections result,” said Mr. Chie.
The Senate President Pro-Tempore thanked Liberians for turning out to vote, for the most part in a peaceful manner.
He also thanked all candidates for participating in the electoral process and abiding by the rules governing the process, to a large extent.
He also expressed thanks to President George Manneh Weah congratulating his successor Amb. Boakai.
Chie noted that this has caused the tension and anxiety that had built up in the country before last Friday’s announcement of the election results to have dissipated.
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“This has paved the way for yet another peaceful transfer of power in Liberia, which peaceful transfer continues to dodge many African Countries,” said Mr. Chie.
He reminded his colleagues in the Senate that they are national leaders and belong to different political parties but witnessed the very competitive nature of the presidential election.
According to him, the final results of the presidential elections are so close that a government of inclusion will be a prudent way to help in national reconciliation.
Chie specifically suggested that a significant number of appointed positions should go to the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) in the incoming Unity Party (UP) administration.
His justification is that the CDC ended up with a whopping 49.36% of the final votes.
Explaining the Senate’s role in the just-ended election, Chie recalled that around this time last year, major items on the Senate’s agenda were electoral reform.
He added that part of the agenda was funding of the October 2023 elections, security for the electoral process, and credibility of the National Elections Commission (NEC) to be fair and transparent, fear for the acceptance or rejection of election results, and concerns of election violence.
“I am pleased to state that most of those issues are now largely behind us, and the elections are almost history, besides the being adjudicated through the legal process,” he said.
He noted that the work of local and foreign observers in the process and the support of the international community are worth noting.
Specially, on behalf of the Liberian Senate, Mr. Chie expressed thanks and appreciation to the Chair, other members of the Board of Commissioners, staff, employees, and the temporary workers of the NEC for a job well done in conducting the 2023 elections fairly and transparently.
“We have always had confidence in the integrity of the men and women at NEC,” he said.
Now that NEC has officially declared Boakai and Koung as the winners, Mr. Chie seized the opportunity to, on behalf of the Liberian Senate, congratulate them for their election as President and Vice President, respectively.
