The runoff presidential election is scheduled for December 26 unless the Supreme Court intervenes in response to the Unity Party’s petition to postpone the election. The UP is claiming that the election cannot be held until the National Election Commission (NEC) demonstrates compliance with previous court orders to clean up the voter registration lists.
The NEC announced December 26 as the date for the runoff election between Joseph Boakai and George Weah. The NEC statement, made on December 12, ordered all campaigning to end by 11:59 PM on December 24. Recognizing that voting will take place immediately after Christmas Day, the NEC Chairman called “…on all registered voters to make this one sacrifice for the good of our democracy and country.” NEC – Runoff Scheduled for Dec 26
The announcement of the runoff date comes in response to the December 7 ruling by Liberia’s Supreme Court that it had not been presented with enough evidence of fraud or other irregularities to annul the results of the October 10 elections. The Court ordered the NEC to schedule the runoff election and to take a series of actions to ensure that the election process was fair. The NEC was ordered to clean up and publicly display the revised Final Registration Roll (FRR), which is the list of eligible voters and their identifying information. The Court also ordered NEC staff from making any “pronouncements and utterances” that would create an appearance of bias. Supreme Court – Dec 7 Decision In response to the orders of the Court, the NEC announced on December 15 a “road map” for cleaning up the FRR. NEC – Roadmap to Clean-Up[sic] the FRR as Mandated by the Supreme Court of Liberia NEC Facebook – Press Announcement Video
Earlier in the week the NEC issued a press release to refute an article that appeared in the Daily Observer questioning whether the NEC was complying with the orders of the Supreme Court. NEC – NEC Refutes Daily Observer Story, says it’s Abiding by the Supreme Court’s Ruling
Observer – NEC Unwilling to Comply with Supreme Court’s Mandate? Then on October 14 the Unity Party (UP), the party of presidential candidate Joseph Boakai, filed a Bill of Information with the Supreme Court requesting the postponement of the runoff election until the NEC demonstrates its compliance with the orders stated in the December 7 ruling of the Court. UP claims that the NEC has failed to clean up the Final Registration Roll (FRR) as mandated. New Dawn – UP Wants Runoff Halted Again FPA – UP Seeks Stay Order on Dec. 26 Runoff Observer – Runoff Could be Stalled Again Observer – UP Exposes Ambiguity in Supreme Court Decision The UP leadership has also been outspoken about its lack of confidence in Jerome Korkoya, the NEC Chairman, calling for his replacement. FPA – Unity Party Scrutinizes NEC Boss Credibility to Handle Runoff Election The Supreme Court has not announced a timetable for deliberating on the UP petition. It has, though, treated previous election-related petitions with urgency.
In other election related news, the UP candidate, Vice-President Joseph Boakai, has promised a one-term presidency if elected. The UP has had its unity fractured by tension between Boakai and President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, but Boakai has called for party members to respect Sirleaf. Observer – Respect Ellen Says Boakai, Promises One Term Presidency FPA – Boakai Promises One Term Presidency As the runoff election nears, and contenders vie for support from other political parties, alliances and defections are being reported in Liberia’s press. FPA – Defections in Liberty Party to CDC after Supreme Court Ruling
The European Union has redeployed its long-term observers in preparation for the runoff election. Bush Chicken – EU Redeploys Long Term Observers The National Democratic Institute and Carter Center are also expected to deploy observers for the runoff.
The next Election Bulletin will be on December 26. An update will be made earlier if the Supreme Court issues a decision changing the date of the runoff.