Ecowas Sends Observers for Lberia's Presidential Run-Off Polls

Professor Attahiru Jega, Chairman INEC

Ecowas Sends Observers for Lberia's Presidential Run-Off Polls

Professor Attahiru Jega, the Chairman of Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), is to lead an enlarged 200-member Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) Election Observation Mission, to monitor Liberia’s Presidential run-off polls on the 11th of November, 2011.

For the presidential run-off, Ecowas is sending more observers to ensure adequate coverage of all the polling stations in the country’s 15 counties and also to maintain presence in all the 19 collation centres for the counting of votes.

Professor Jega had led the 150-Ecowas Observers that monitored the 11th October 2011 first round presidential balloting in Liberia, which ended inconclusively.

According to the final results released by Liberia’s National Elections Commission (NEC), none of the 16 presidential candidates received the constitutional 50 per cent plus one vote in the first round, hence the run-off between the two frontrunners, incumbent President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of the United Party (UP) and Mr. Winston Tubman of the main opposition Congress for Democratic Change (CDC).

Preliminary verdict

In its preliminary declaration, the Ecowas Election Observation Mission had noted that “on the whole, the elections of 11th October 2011 were conducted under acceptable conditions of freedom of voters and transparency of the process”.

Ahead of the run-off, the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Ambassador James Victor-Gbeho, in a statement, urged Liberians to eschew narrow partisan consideration in favour of national interest and regional stability.

He stated that “the run-off election will go ahead as planned, and for as long as there are more than one competing candidates and provided it is adjudged by the competent authorities, and certified by credible observers, to be transparent, free and credible, Ecowas will recognize whoever emerges as President”.

The statement also urged “all parties with legitimate electoral grievances to seek redress through laid down legal channels, noting that failure to pursue this course would mean that the aggrieved parties lack any tangible evidence to press their cases”.

The Commission also put on notice “all those, who may harbour any temptation to disturb the fragile peace in Liberia, that ECOWAS will participate in taking all appropriate measures under the framework of the United Nations Security Council mandate to preserve stability in the country”.

Some 1.7 million registered Liberian voters out of an estimated population of four million, went to the polls on 11th October 2011 to elect a president, senators and members of the National House of Representatives.

Edited: Hajia Sani