-LEON’s election day observation report provides
In its election day observation report, LEON- a network of different local NGOs in Liberia says approximately 40% of NEC staff that facilitated the Tuesday, October 10, 2023, legislative and presidential elections were women.
“LEON notes that approximately 40% of NEC staff were women at the polling places observed.”
During the disclosure of its Election Day observation report at a press conference Tuesday, October 10, 2023, LEON says, “Most polling places opened on time and with electoral materials present in Liberia. LEON notes that approximately 90% of polling places observed opened within the first 30 minutes from the official poll opening time.”
LEON’s observers reported the presence of the following electoral materials at polling places: Final Registration Roll, Ballot Papers, Validating Stamp, Stamp Pad,
Voting Screen, Tactile Ballot Guide, and Indelible Ink.
“LEON’s observers reported that the
Ballot Box was Shown to Be Empty Before Voting. LEON’s observers reported the presence of party agents/poll watchers at polling places observed. The top three political parties with party agents/poll watchers present were Coalition of Democratic Change (CDC) with approximately 89%, Unity Party (UP) with approximately 83%, and Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) with approximately 61%.”
The conglomeration of NGOs observers indicated the presence of other electoral observers at polling places observed. They included- Election Coordinating Committee (ECC), and Liberian Council of Churches as well as Security Presence.
“LEON observers reported security forces present at approximately 97% of polling places observed. LEON’s observers also reported instances of pushing and shoving among voters at the entrances to polling precincts in Montserrado, Lofa, Margibi, Sinoe, Bomi, and Grand Bassa as of reporting time.
LEON says it is concerned for the welfare of vulnerable citizens like women and persons with disabilities who could be most affected by this type of behavior. With this, LEON calls on voters to exercise calm and patience as they await their turn to cast their ballots.
At the same time, LEON observers reported cases of NEC presiding officers restricting access of observers to polling places due to a NEC policy for “no recording device is allowed in the voting booth.” LEON raised this issue to the NEC who is taking steps to communicate with its electoral officials to enable free access of observers to the polling places.
The observation body has encouraged Liberians to participate and exercise their constitutional right to elect your political representatives.
“The Liberia Elections Observation Network (LEON) is pleased to submit to the Liberian people and the international community this mid-day briefing of its initial findings from observations during the opening of polling places for the 2023 presidential and legislative elections.”
As of 7:00 AM, LEON deployed 1,030 observers, including 73 long-term observers (LTOs), assigned to each electoral district; 904 short-term observers (STOs), assigned to randomly selected polling places; and 53 field coordinators (FCs), assigned to support data collection.
LEON’s four Steering Committee members also deployed to monitor electoral proceedings in Monrovia. All observers are fully accredited by the National Elections Commission (NEC).
The STOs are assigned to 904 polling places representing a viable statistical presence in all counties. LEON’s observer coverage includes approximately 15% of all polling places from among the 73 electoral districts. LEON provides the following findings from the opening of polls from around the country.
LEON is a network of the Liberia Crusaders for Peace (LCP), Catholic Justice and Peace Commission (JPC), Federation of Liberian Youth (FLY), and National Union of Organizations of the Disabled (NUOD). Since 2017, LEON has developed into a respected election observation organization operating in the democracy and governance space and has successfully conducted a range of activities, including observing elections, legislative monitoring, social media monitoring, political participation of women and persons with disabilities, citizen perception surveys, and advocating for electoral reform.
