Ambassador Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Standard Bearer of the Unity Party (UP) and former Vice President of Liberia, has stressed that he does not have CONFIDENCE in the National Election Commission (NEC).
He said he cannot shy away from that because, according to the UP Standard Bearer, there is a lot of political leaning in there, a lot of incompetence, and unpatriotic people, and we don’t believe they can lead us to 2023.
Speaking at a press conference Monday, June 7, 2022, at his Rehab Community office, Amb. Boakai pointed out that the Mandate of the NEC does not allow it to work for any political party or government, but only in the interest of the Liberian people.
The Former Vice President in reaction to the decision of the Supreme Court on Friday, June 3, 2022, noted that the highest court of the land made the right decision in upholding the Constitution and Rule of Law when it decided to nullify the NEC obstruction to registering the UP candidate in the rescheduled Lofa County bi-election, after former Defense Minister Brownie Samuka, who was elected in the December 2020 bi-elections, was prevented from taking his seat as Senator-elect of Lofa County because of a criminal case filed against him.
Amb. Boakai commended the Chief Justice and Justices of the Supreme Court for the precedent-setting decision, which he said was a signal to the NEC “to do the right thing at all times.”
Amb. Boakai also warned the NEC that it is incumbent upon the Commissioners to do the right thing because the UP will be prepared to challenge any wrong decision made against “the opposition and, by extension, the voters’ interests.”
The UP Standard Bearer strongly noted that maintaining the “hard-won peace in Liberia depends on the unfettered practice of legitimate politics, which include Free and Fair Elections.”
He concluded by again reminding the NEC about updating the Voter’s Roll and the urgent need to use the Biometric Voting System in 2023 elections, which were recommended by International Election Observers in 2007, including ECOWAS, emphasizing that the 2023 General and Presidential Elections must be conducted through a “transparent process because the Unity Party and its affiliate political parties and the people of Liberia will accept NOTHING LESS.”
