UNDP and partners -the European Union, Irish Aid, the Governments of Canada and Sweden, are supporting the National Elections Commission (NEC) to conduct an Inter-Party Dialogue on the Prevention (IPDP) of electoral violence in Liberia.
The dialogue, which was held from 4 to 5 September 2019 at Jacky’s Hotel in Ganta, Nimba County, aimed at maintaining peace and sustaining democratic institutions in Liberia.
Participants include key electoral stakeholders namely: civil society organisations, political parties, traditional leaders, the media, women and youth groups, among others.
The Ganta workshop was part of efforts made by UNDP and donor partners to promote peace among electoral stakeholders as the country prepares for the 2020 elections and marks the beginning in a series of political parties workshops intended to take place between now and next year. It is anticipated that before the 2020 elections, registered political parties will draft and subsequent sign a resolution for non-violent elections in 2020.
These early warning or mitigation processes are coming at a time of heated political tension in the country as witnessed by the recent wave of electoral violence from the just ended by elections in District 15, Montserrado County. On similar note, in 2016, political parties were instrumental in the prevention of electoral violence during 2017, at which time they committed themselves to a peaceful and non-violent elections through the signing of the “Ganta Decleration”.
