Cllr. Frances Johnson-Morris

Sinkor, Tubman Blvd P. O Box ______Monrovia, Liberia Monrovia, Liberia Republic of Liberia National Elections Commission (NEC) Name

Position/Event 15 AUGUST 2005 If found, please deliver to the upper address or the Holder’s Signature Authorized Signature nearest Police Station

TALKING POINTS CLLR. FRANCES JOHNSON-MORRIS CHAIR OF THE NATIONAL ELECTIONS COMMISSION

 NEC URGES PEACEFUL AND NON-VIOLENT CAMPAIGN PERIOD

NEC has declared today as the official start date for the electoral campaign period. NEC underscores the importance peaceful and non-violent campaigning for the period August 15 to October 9, 2005. Candidates are strongly urged to desist from disrupting other candidates’ campaign activities, destroying or damaging campaign materials of other candidates, carrying arms or any other offensive weapons at any activity, engaging or employing other individuals for the purposes of violence, intimidation or harassment of other candidates or their supporters, or using abusive, profane or inflammatory language against other candidates.

 NEC AND MINISTRY OF INFORMATION AGREE ON PROCEDURES FOR PUBLIC INTEREST MEDIA ACCESS

The Ministry of Information and the National Elections Commission have jointly agreed that the voluntary guidelines and procedures set forth below can be used by the broadcast media of Liberia in providing appropriate access for all candidates during the campaign period preceding the October 2005 Elections.

1. Requests for Public Access Interviews. Every candidate whose name will appear on the ballot for the October 11, 2005 Elections may request a recorded interview from the broadcast media outlets that are signatories to this procedure and whose coverage areas include the candidate’s legislative districts. These candidate public access interviews will take the form of a question and answer session in which each candidate will be asked similar questions, with the aim of explaining their campaign platform.

The broadcast outlets who are signatories to these guidelines agree to record and broadcast candidate interviews without charge to the candidates, as provided below. The broadcast outlets are not limited in the re-broadcasting of these interviews, provided all candidate interviews are re-broadcast.

2. Length of Public Interest Interviews and Manner of Scheduling Interviews to be Broadcast. Each candidate interview shall be broadcast for a minimum of five (5) minutes, provided that, where a decision is made to extend the length beyond five (5) minutes, all candidate interviews shall be the same length. Sinkor, Tubman Blvd P. O Box ______Monrovia, Liberia Monrovia, Liberia Republic of Liberia National Elections Commission (NEC) Name

Position/Event Interviews shall be broadcast between the hours of 07:00 and 19:00 daily during the If found, please deliverelection to the upper campaign address period, or the which ends at 11.59 p.m. on October 9, 2005. Holder’s Signature Authorized Signature nearest Police Station Several candidate interviews shall be grouped together to provide the best comparative information to the public about candidate platforms.

General Election Coverage and Commercial Announcements. Adherence to these public interest interview procedures is not intended to prevent the signatory from producing and broadcasting programs that cover election-related events, or in-depth interviews with selected candidates, or from broadcasting campaign announcements that are commercially purchased by any candidate.

3. Coverage Area for Broadcast Media Outlets. Broadcast outlets are not required to record and broadcast candidate interviews for candidates that are contesting an office outside the broadcast outlet’s coverage area.

 NEC HOLDS ORIENTATION PROGRAM FOR CANDIDATES

NEC conducted an orientation program for candidates on Saturday, August 13. The objective of the activity was to disseminate important information such as adherence to the Political Parties’ Code of Conduct and to brief the 762 candidates contesting the elections on campaign finance procedures.

 REFUND FOR REJECTED APPLICANTS

Rejected applicants who had registered to contest in the October 2005 Elections will be refunded the fees paid to NEC for processing their applications.

 SUMMARY OF QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Commenting on the claim by the five candidates whose nominations were rejected that the NEC had denied them the opportunity to correct deficiencies in their nominations in compliance with the Commission’s own guidelines, the NEC Chair clarified that, because of their late submissions, the affected individuals had denied themselves the opportunity of the 7-day period provided in the guidelines for correction of deficiencies. She said with the expiration of the deadline for such corrections, the NEC had to proceed with determination of candidacy based on the information available.

When asked if the NEC was going to be rigid about punishing parties/candidates or their supporters who violated campaign regulations, the Chair emphasized that such candidates or parties would be held accountable for the actions of their supporters. She said the campaign period is to allow candidates to freely present their platforms; hence, the Commission will not tolerate lawlessness in any form during the exercise. Cllr. Johnson-Morris however noted that the Sinkor, Tubman Blvd P. O Box ______Monrovia, Liberia Monrovia, Liberia Republic of Liberia National Elections Commission (NEC) Name

Position/Event NEC will not allow its judgments to be influenced by public sentiments and will enforce penalties If found, pleasein deliverline with to the the upper law. “Weaddress are or not the here to satisfy the wishes of anybody,” the Chair stressed. Holder’s Signature Authorized Signature nearest Police Station Commenting on the procurement of polling materials, the NEC Chair said UNMIL Electoral Division is taking the lead on this issue and that progress is being made in getting the materials available on time. She also added that the Commission is now much more comfortable in regards to logistical preparedness, noting that the anxieties that prevailed over logistical constraints prior to voter registration have been minimized. The Chair disclosed that there has been increased goodwill from the international community and cited the recent donation of vehicles to the NEC by ECOWAS.

When asked how much money the Commission had raised from payments made by candidates during Nomination Process, the NEC Chair said the Commission had collected a total sum of 541,00 Liberian dollars.

In response to a question on why NEC Co-Chairman Fromoyan did not sign the ruling into the dual citizenship case against George Weah, Presidential candidate of the CDC and Marcus Dahn, Vice-Presidential candidate of the APD, the Chair clarified that Commissioner Fromoyan did not affix his signature to the document simply because he did not participate in the investigation. She explained that the NEC rules require at least 5 signatures for a valid decision, and accordingly 6 commissioners had affixed their signatures to the ruling. Co-Chairman Fromoyan himself, who attended the press briefing, dispelled rumors of a split among the commissioners on the issue.

Addressing reports that the Commissioners had refused UNMIL bodyguards, the Chair said on the contrary the NEC had in fact requested UNMIL for security protection and the necessary modalities are being worked out.

Regarding a concern expressed that some IDPs who have not been resettled may not be able to vote, the Chair said she hoped agencies responsible for the IDP return process would step up the exercise. Cllr. Johnson-Morris however pointed out that according to information received by the Commission, a substantial number of IDP who opted to vote in their counties of origin had already returned home.

On what will be done about missing Voter Registration cards, the Chair said the Commission has taken due note of the problem and a process for replacement of missing voter IDs will be carried out in September 2005 to address the issue.

Concerning how the Commission will verify whether presidential candidates’ campaign expenditures do not exceed USD 2 million as stated under the Campaign Finances Regulations, the Chair explained that there is a monitoring mechanism in place and candidates/parties are also required to make periodic expenditure reports to the Commission.

* *** * Sinkor, Tubman Blvd P. O Box ______Monrovia, Liberia Monrovia, Liberia Republic of Liberia National Elections Commission (NEC) Name

Position/Event If found, please deliver to the upper address or the Holder’s Signature Authorized Signature nearest Police Station ***