The UNDP Elections Project with support from the Irish Aid, EU, the Governments of Sweden and Canada, is supporting the National Elections Commission (NEC) of Liberia to rollout a series of workshops for political parties on electoral violence and conflict preventions ahead of the October 2020 Special Senatorial Election. The workshop which was organized under the framework of the Inter-Parties Consultative Committee (IPCC), took place in Zwedru, Grand Gedeh County, form March 4-5 with participants drawn from, Maryland, River Gee, Grand Kru, Sinoe and Grand Gedeh. The next workshop will take place in Kakata Margibi County.
In September 2016, ahead of the 2017 general elections, political parties in like manner gathered in Ganta to draw up a road map to peace, committing themselves to peaceful and nonviolent elections in Liberia, the result of which saw a peaceful transition of political power from one democratically elected Government to another.
Despite the commitment by the political parties to non-violent elections in Liberia, the Montserrado electoral districts 13 and 15 by-elections were marred by electoral violence involving opposition and ruling party members.
The series of workshops is therefore to remind political parties of the commitment they made and the moral duty they have to keep Liberia peaceful during and after elections.
In remarks Clln. Nyenati Tuan, Deputy Minister of Justice, Ministry of Justice, called on participants to serve as ambassadors to take back the message of peaceful nonviolent elections to their respective political parties and the public, noting that political parties and the public in general have a moral responsibility to preserve the peace of the Country.
