PRELIMINARY DECLARATION – LIBERIA GENERAL ELECTIONS – 10th OCTOBER 2023
28.A notable incident, however, occurred at the Mambo Public School Polling precinct at Tewor, in Grand Cape Town,where the seals of the Ballot Boxes transported to the center had broken,unknown to the electoral officials. Party agents, voters and community opinion leaders insisted that voting could not start until the issue was resolved.Consequently the Elections Commission’s officials in the district assured the voters of requesting for new sealed ballot boxes to allow for votingto start. As at 4:00 pm, voting had not started at the Mambo Public School polling precinct,generating chaotic scenes.
Closing and Counting
29. Generally voting ended between 6:00 pm and 11:00 pm.In 83% of the polling stations, voting ended between 6:00 pm and 8:00 pm. In 62% of the polling stations visited, voters waiting in queues to vote after the official closing of polls were allowed to cast their ballot in accordance with the law.
30. ln all the polling stations visited,the opening of ballot boxes, sorting and countingof ballots were done at the stations and in clear view of party agents and election observers. However, there was poor lightingin 33% of the polling stations as countingof votes continued deep into the night.
31. Reconciliation and Results Forms (RRFs) were filled out at the Polling stations and party agents were allowed to endorse them.
32.0verall,the sheer number of registered voters per pollingunit (500-520) in of ten crammed spaces contributedto the sluggishness of thevotingprocess and tensions in the queues.
PRELIMINARY DECLARATION – LIBERIA GENERAL ELECTIONS – lOTH OCTOBER 2023
V. PRELIMINARY CONCLUSIONS
33. The Mission notes the challenges associated with infrastructure and their im pact on the smooth conduct of the elections. While the Mission urges the Government to put in measures to ameliorate the infrastructure conditions of the country,it also urges the National Parliament and other critical stakeholders to consider the review of the relevant portions of the Constitution and the electoral law to allow for national elections to be held on dates duringthe dry season.
34. The Mission notes that the polling process generally proceeded smoothly and in a largely peaceful atmosphere,and eligible voters were able to freely par ticipate inthe process, even though the long queues, congestions atthe voting precincts and the slow pace of the process led to some grumbling and agita tions by voters. To address congestion and long queues at polling precincts, reforms may be introduced in the electoral laws to reduce the number of vot ers per pollingunit,taking into cognisance the resource need for such reforms.
35. The Mission commends the sense of patriotism exhibited by polling staff, the security forces and the general populace, who collectively played their parts in ensuring a peaceful conduct of the 2023 general elections.
36. The ECOWAS Election Observation Mission wishes to appealto all stakehold ers, particularly the political parties, candidates and their supporters, as well as the security forces and the general citizenry to remain calm and patiently wait for the official declaration of the results by the National Elections Com mission,the sole organ mandated to do so under the law.
37. Similarly,the Mission wishes to remind candidates and political parties on the commitments made within the framework of the Revised Farmington River
