Liberia’s international development partners and other civil society organizations (CSO) have been praised for their robust involvement in enriching the country’s democratization process over the years.
The commendation was made on Tuesday, March 24, 2020 by Grand Gedeh County District #3 Representative, Alex Chersia Grant, at his Capitol Building office when he received proposals for amendment of key clauses of the existing electoral laws from a delegation of the National Elections Commission (NEC) led by Cllr Boakai Dukuly, Commissioner for Legal Affairs.
Rep. Honorable Grant who spoke in his capacity as Chairman, House Committee on Elections and Inauguration noted that the presentation marks a major development in the evolving process to produce the needed reform that will guarantee transparent, free, Fair and credible elections with the view of enhancing good governance in the country.
“We are delighted to welcome you in our office and receive this important document you have worked on assiduously during the period under review. We can assure you that we are going to ensure that the document will be accorded maximum legislative attention expeditiously”, Rep. Grant promised the delegation.
Earlier, Cllr. Boakai Dukuly, head of delegation, similarly commended the international community, the civil society organizations (CSO), other stakeholders as well as Cllr. Gloria Musu-Scott, former Chief Justice of Liberia, whom he glowingly praised for the unflinching support his institution received during the entire period preparing the document. He recounted that the need for reform was necessitated from the many challenges the electoral process has experienced in the past especially during the 2017 Presidential and Representatives elections.
He said the proposals are products of inputs generated from citizens from all shades of the country after engaging them in series of town halls and regional consultations.
Cllr. Dukuly who also has oversight responsibility covering Maryland, Sinoe and Grand Kru Counties, appealed to Honorable Grant and members of the House Committee on Elections and Inauguration to place premium on the document while considering all legislative engagements in the national legislature.
The occasion was witnessed by Cllr Gloria Musu Scott, former Chief Justice of Liberia who was credited with huge legal consultancy services to the National Elections Commission, members of the delegation from NEC, Mr. Mohammed Boakai, Project Coordinator at Liberia Accountancy and Voice Initiative (LAVI), and members of the press.
It can be recalled that in March, 2019, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), through the Liberia Accountancy and Voice Initiative ( LAVI) gave an in kind grant of Ninety Thousand United States Dollars ($90,000.00) to support the activities of the House Standing Committee on Elections and Inauguration (HSCEI) in drafting propositions for amendment by the National Legislature.
Meanwhile, other sets of proposals for electoral reform were submitted late last year by the Election Coordinating Committee (ECC) and Liberia Election Observation Network (LEON) to the House Standing Committee on Elections and Inauguration. The documents are being compiled into a synchronized version for public hearing and subsequent presentation to the plenary for passage into law.
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