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Eisa Pre-Election Assessment Mission Report

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Eisa Pre-Election Assessment Mission Report EISA PRE-ELECTION ASSESSMENT MISSION REPORT Republic of Liberia 11-15 September 2017 Contents LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................................................................................. 3 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ......................................................................................................................................... 4 2. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT OF THE 2017 PRESIDENTIAL AND REPRESENTATIVES ELECTIONS ................................................................................................................................ 6 3. ELECTORAL FRAMEWORK .............................................................................................................................. 13 3.1. The constitutional and legal framework: ........................................................................................... 13 3.1.1. The 1986 Constitution .................................................................................................................... 13 3.1.2. The New Elections Law (as amended) and Regulations .................................................. 14 3.2. The electoral system: ................................................................................................................................ 16 3.3. Party and campaign finance ................................................................................................................... 17 3.4. Election management ............................................................................................................................... 18 4. KEY FINDINGS ON THE PRE-ELECTION PHASE ..................................................................................... 21 4.1. Constituency delimitation ...................................................................................................................... 21 4.2. Voter registration ....................................................................................................................................... 23 4.3. Political party registration and candidate registration .............................................................. 25 4.4. The media ...................................................................................................................................................... 27 4.5. Civil society ................................................................................................................................................... 28 4.6. Gender and minority rights .................................................................................................................... 28 4.7. Civic and voter education ....................................................................................................................... 30 4.8. Security ........................................................................................................................................................... 30 4.9. Campaigns ..................................................................................................................................................... 31 4.10. Preparedness of the National Elections Commission (NEC) .................................................... 32 APPENDICES .................................................................................................................................................................... 34 Appendix 1: Stakeholders consulted by the EISA PAM ............................................................................. 34 Appendix 2: List of Registered Political Parties ........................................................................................... 35 Page 2 of 35 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CDC Congress for Democratic Change CSOs Civil Society Organisations ECC Election Coordinating Committee EISA Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa FRR Final Registration Roll ICC International Criminal Court IPCC Inter-Party Consultative Committee LBS Liberia Broadcasting Service LEON Liberia Election Observation Network LNP Liberian National Police NDI National Democratic Institute for International Affairs NEC National Elections Commission NOUD National Union of Organisations for the Disabled OMR Optical Mark Recognition PUL Press Union of Liberia PWDs Persons with Disability TCC The Carter Centre TRC Truth and Reconciliation Commission UNMIL United Nations Mission in Liberia UP Unity Party Page 3 of 35 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Through the implementation of its Africa Democracy Strengthening (ADS) Programme, the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa (EISA) seeks to contribute to the improvement of electoral processes on the continent. In line with this objective, it deployed a pre- election assessment mission (PAM) to Liberia from 11 to 15 September 2017. The PAM was tasked with assessing the pre-election and political context in Liberia, and to determine whether conditions exist for conducting democratic elections during the presidential and representatives elections that are scheduled to take place on 10 October 2017. The mission also examined the state of preparedness for the elections by key stakeholders such as the National Elections Commission, political parties, and civil society organisations. The EISA PAM’s assessment is based on international benchmarks for democratic elections provided in the African Charter for Democracy, Elections and Governance; the AU/OAU Declaration on the Principles Governing Democratic Elections in Africa; the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation; the Principles for Election Management, Monitoring and Observation (PEMMO); and the Liberian legal framework for elections. The EISA PAM to Liberia was conducted by Mr Justin Doua, Country Director, EISA Somalia field office and Ms Olufunto Akinduro, Head of Elections and Political Processes, EISA Johannesburg. The mission held consultative meetings with electoral stakeholders in Monrovia. EISA wishes to express its gratitude to the stakeholders who met with the assessment team and provided the necessary information for the realisation of the mission’s objectives. The 2017 elections are crucial for Liberia’s democratic consolidation, as they present the first post-conflict transfer of power between two elected governments. These elections will be second of their kind since 1944. They take place against the background of the drawdown of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), which places more responsibility on the Liberian government to fund and provide the requisite operational infrastructure in order for the elections to be successfully conducted. The elections are also taking place in the aftermath of the Ebola health crisis that claimed over 4,000 lives and strained the country’s limited economic resources and weak infrastructure. In its assessment of the constitutional and legal framework of Liberia, the EISA PAM considers the framework as providing a sufficient and sound basis for conducting credible elections. The PAM noted amendments to the New Electoral Law in line with recommendations made by the EISA election observer mission (EOM) in 2011 – for instance, the appointment of the Executive Director by the NEC. The EISA PAM is of the view that the legal framework remains weak in the area of inclusion and effective representation of women, youth and vulnerable groups like persons with disability. The legal framework guarantees fundamental rights to a large extent, albeit with some observed restrictions. The PAM in its assessment of the legal framework considers the following provisions as imposing undue restrictions on political rights: The 10-year residency requirement and the requirement for presidential candidates to have property worth at least $25,000 USD Provisions empowering the NEC to suspend parties or ban candidates from the next two elections if they do not receive at least 2% of the votes cast in an election (section 5A{1}) Provision of section 4.5 (1a) of the New Elections Act that mandates parties to field candidates for 50% of the constituencies. The PAM is of the opinion that parties should be allowed to field candidates in their areas of support without such restrictions. Page 4 of 35 The imposition of a non-refundable deposit as an application fee by candidates may restrict the participation of otherwise qualified candidates. The regulatory framework for party and campaign finance defines the allowable sources of funding,; it provides for disclosure of donations and expenditure by parties and the NEC; and it also provides ceilings on campaign expenditure and donations. The guidelines provide clear details of the procedures for reporting and monitoring by the NEC. The framework, however, does not provide for the public funding of political parties. The campaigns commenced on 29 July. They have generally been peaceful and all parties have conducted their activities without undue restrictions. Political parties consulted by the PAM also expressed their satisfaction with the conduct of the Liberia National Police (LNP and the police response to isolated incidents that have so far been reported. The NEC was satisfied that parties have largely complied with the terms of the agreed Code of Conduct. To regulate the participation of the media in the electoral process and foster responsible and accurate reporting the Press Union of Liberia (PUL) and the NEC adopted the Media Code of Conduct. While
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