Monrovia, Liberia – Due to a disagreement over US$8 million that remains from the US$53 million budget that was disbursed for the 2023 Presidential and Representative Elections, the Liberia National Elections Commission (NEC) is experiencing an escalation of internal strife.
Concerns over the NEC’s financial management and transparency are raised by this dispute, which is characterized by allegations and counterclaims and appears to prolong the organization’s instability.
Co-Chair Commissioner P. Teplah Reeves and Chairperson Davidetta Browne-Lassanah’s dispute may have wider ramifications for the legitimacy and efficacy of their work, particularly as the nation prepares for the upcoming elections in 2029.
Disagreement about the proper management of the remaining US$8 million at the NEC is the foundation of the conflict.
Following the elections, the funds were disclosed to the Liberian government in accordance with the Public Financial Management (PFM) law, according to Chairperson Brown-Lassanah.
Co-chairperson Reeves, however, does not appear to be happy with this approach, claiming that the remaining monies should be utilized to solve urgent problems within the Commission instead of being cleared.
The dispute calls into doubt the distribution and use of public monies and draws attention to the NEC’s persistent governance issues, particularly in the wake of a historic election that was mostly transparent, fair, and credible.
“I approached the Minister of Finance, Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan, to reaffirm the declaration of the US$8 million when the agitation over the remaining funds began,” Madam Brown-Lassanah said.
She maintained that under the former Finance Minister, Boimah Kamara, US$8 million had been revealed to the government.
The NEC Boss made it clear that no more financial measures could be done at the NEC until the ministry’s consent, stressing that she had resubmitted the money distribution data to the Ministry of Finance.
The NEC’s bureaucratic and procedural obstacles in its attempts to carry out preparatory efforts are reflected in this step.
But at that time, more than US$2 million was spent on bye-elections in the counties of Nimba and Grand Gedeh, which reduced the remaining US$8 million to US$5 million.
According to reports, current Finance Minister Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan told the NEC board that the period for using the remaining US$8 million had closed. Since the government still had over US$5 million in its coffers, any future work or requests for reallocating monies would only be based on a balance of about US$2 million.
The NEC continued its work and presented a $2 million supplemental budget proposal. Hazard pay was one of the proposal’s main components, and some of the money was meant to pay for insurance.
Not being acknowledged as the official head of the National Elections Commission is one of the main obstacles she faces, according to Chairperson Brown-Lassanah, who voiced her dissatisfaction on OK FM on Monday, November 4, 2024.
She disclosed that several Commission officials have minimized her power, claiming that her sole responsibility is to act as the NEC’s spokesperson. Internal conflicts have been exacerbated by this purported undermining of her authority, making it more difficult for her to handle the Commission’s more general operational problems.
Co-chairman Cllr. P. Teplah Reeves, however, denied speaking with the chairperson about the Tuesday, November 5, 2024, declaration of the remaining US$8 million to the government.
Cllr. Reeves emphasizes that she had never participated in discussions or decisions on whether or not to declare the remaining funds. By exposing communication breakdowns and divergent viewpoints between the two key officials, this statement exacerbates the already existing division within the NEC and makes the Commission’s operational and budgetary difficulties much more difficult to resolve.
Co-chairperson Reeves stressed that there was no personal hostility between her and Chairperson Davidetta Brown-Lassanah when asked if there was any dispute between them.
She clarified that the problems were limited to the NEC’s senior positions and organizational structure.
Cllr. Reeves argued that the friction resulted from varying interpretations of the new elections legislation, which is a crucial component that governs the roles and obligations of Commissioners at NEC, rather than from a personal disagreement.
The intricacy of the problem is highlighted by this response. It appears that procedural disputes rather than interpersonal disputes are the main cause of the difficulties.
In response to Chairperson Davidetta Brown-Lassanah’s remark, Cllr. Reeves expressed shock and displeasure, stating that she was surprised to learn that she had instructed the Chairperson not to return the remaining US$8 million.
She assertd that the law mandates that any unused monies return to the government and that the Commission may only receive them after approval. Her remark emphasizes even more the procedural and legal discrepancies that are causing the ongoing conflict within the NEC.
She emphasizes that the NEC should engage all commissioners in decision-making as a collective entity and condemned Chairperson Davidetta Brown-Lassanah for acting alone.
She also questions how the Chairperson’s assertion that preparatory efforts were still going on could be justified given that all of the Commission’s financing had been halted.
Cllr. Reeves’ remarks highlight her increasing dissatisfaction with what she sees as a lack of cooperation and openness in decision-making, further widening the rift that prompted some of the Commission employees to demonstrate on Tuesday, November 5, 2024.
