By Lewis S Teh
Exactly a week to the conduct of the October 10th Presidential and Legislative Elections, the opposition Economic Freedom Fighters of Liberia (EFFL) is urging the National Elections Commission (NEC) to refrain from acts that will hinder peace and tranquility in Liberia.
“Ladies and Gentlemen of the Press, our country is at the crossroads; we want to urge the national elections commission to uphold the sanity of Liberia by conducting free, fair, transparent and credible elections”, says EFFL Commander Emmanuel Gonquoi.
Commander Gonquoi made the call on Monday, October 2, in a news conference held at the party’s headquarters in Congo town.
He says the institution responsible to conduct free, fair, and transparent elections is the NEC, so it must do all it can to uphold the sanity of Liberia’s democracy.
Gonquoi underscores that the NEC must prevent chaos in the country, noting that in every country electoral dispute constitutes about 90% of conflicts globally.
“We do not want to see a repeat of the 1985 situation and that’s exactly why the EFFL is very consistent about flagging issues that borders around integrity of the election”, he added.
The EFFL leader vows to hold all stakeholders, including the NEC’s feet to the fire to ensure the upcoming elections are free, void of influence and to ensure that the rights of the people are protected.
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He reveals that the EFFL has observed for the past weeks and months that there are alleged plot and conspiracy by the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change or CDC and the NEC to deny the will of the Liberian people at the ballot box without providing evidence.
He warns that the party will take no solace in any groups or institutions that will work against the interests of the people.
He claims that over the past week, the NEC met with international partners and made it clear that considering that they don’t have the proper logistics in place, the Commission will revert to manual voting process. But Gonquoi describes such decision as a recipe for chaos.
The NEC conducted electronic biometric voter registration for the October elections aimed at curtailing fraudulent or double registrations.
Prior to the official launch of campaign, the EFFL pledged support for Unity Party standard bearer, former Vice President Joseph N. Boakai and his Rescue Ticket describing Ambassador Boakai as the best candidate in the race. Editing by Jonathan Browne
