MONROVIA – Though the next rounds of elections – both midterm and general elections – are years ahead, it seems the Chief Umpire of democratic elections in the country, the National Elections Commissions, is not “taking side with”, a Liberian parlance for “seriously considering”, early preparations as to add to its recent record of conducting clean and credible polls. The Analyst reports.
The Executive Director of the National Elections Commission (NEC) has made disclosures of activities and programs being contemplated as preemptive actions to ensure the conduct of elections in the country and increase its profile as a major pillar of the country’s nascent democracy.
ED Anthony Sengbe in a statement to the local media recalled that the 2023 General Elections in Liberia were widely acclaimed by local and international observers as being free, fair and credible.
To improve upon that morale, he told the press over the weekend, the Commission is considering early preparations for the 2029 General Elections, ensuring a more organized, efficient and participatory process.
To achieve the goal, the NEC Executive Director averred that his agency was poised to focus on a number of activities which include periodic redistricting of electoral boundaries which is necessary in any representative system where single member districts are used.
He said conducting electoral constituency boundary delimitation/redistricting is in compliance with the Constitution and the Electoral Legal and Regulatory Framework of Liberia and is a key electoral activity to implement.
The results of the delimitation could eventually lead to the increase in the number of registration centers or polling precincts, thereby taking Elections to the people, Mr. Sengbe said.
He also indicated that there will be the development of a new six-year strategic plan, intended to guide the implementation of all roadmaps in the electoral cycle, a recurrent activity usually undertaken by the NEC every six years.
According to him the Commission is to develop an improved and comprehensive electoral law reform agenda as to enhance the credibility of the electoral process.
“The Commission has already developed a roadmap and an agenda for reform,” Sengbe said further. “Consequently, it is expected that the Commission will hold consultations with electoral stakeholders to obtain their input and support to the reform agenda.”
He recalled that during the 2023 Electoral process, manual verification of voters was done on Election Day and that introducing a biometric authentication device (verifiers) would also improve the electoral process in future elections.
The goal is to potentially incorporate more modern authentication technologies going forward, with the aim of enhancing the overall integrity, efficiency and credibility of future elections in Liberia.
According to the NEC Executive Director, there will also be the maintaining and upgrading Software Systems will require adopting appropriate technologies that will address the registration of candidates without the candidates appearing at the Nomination Center and developing special accreditation portals for Observers, Party Agents, and Media Representatives.
“Applications of technology in elections will improve the electoral processes by making them more accurate and credible,” he noted. “Technology can increase administrative efficiency, reduce long-term costs, and enhance transparency.”
He spoke to plans to actively participate in post electoral capacity building activities including short- and long-term training of staff, including enhancing technological knowledge, understanding and use in the areas of data and IT, study tours, Elections observation mission, peer-to-peer knowledge and experience sharing with other electoral management bodies.
These activities, Sengbe further said, are aimed at enhancing the Commission’s understanding of electoral processes, foster collaboration amongst other EMBs, promote the exchange of best practices and lessons learned and (BRIDGE) Building Resources in Democracy Governance and Elections (BRIDGE) trainings.
“These ideals are consistent with the objectives of the ECOWAS Network of Electoral Commissions (ECONEC) and in line with international best practices,” he disclosed, adding: “To ensure the timely availability of funds for the 2029 General Elections, the need for setting up of an Electoral Fund is imperative.”
By initiating this process early, Sengbe noted, “the government and its partners can facilitate the process of raising funds for the 2029 Elections over a period, rather than waiting until the Election Year.”
Overall, he said, by initiating the process early, an Electoral Fund can provide numerous advantages in terms of enhancing financial planning, increase fundraising opportunities, reduce Election-Year burden, and facilitate long-term development, thereby contributing to the smooth conduct of the 2029 General Elections.
“The Commission anticipates, through Electoral Reform, legislation that will integrate these perspectives.”
He underscored the fact that the professional administration of elections depends on a team of knowledgeable and well-trained managers equipped to tackle the challenges of such large-scale operations.
Further recalling, he said since the conduct of the 2005 General Elections in Liberia, the employment of elections as instruments for governance and societal decision making has significantly expanded within the Liberia electoral landscape.
He praised Liberia for making significant progress when NEC Liberia migrated from optical mark recognition to a biometric registration system. Building on the successes achieved during the 2023 General Elections is an important opportunity to identify areas for improvement and ways to strengthen the Electoral framework using technological solutions like authentication of voters on Election Day.
He said one of the most complex tasks for any electoral management body (EMB) is the creation and maintenance of an accurate register of eligible voters.
According to him, a biometric voter registration system effectively fulfills this role by serving as a robust tool for detecting duplicate registrations. It is important to recognize that the sole purpose of biometric voter registration is to identify and deter duplicate registrations.
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