By: Peter Dennis
Desk Editor

IPNews-Monrovia: The National Elections Commission upper Bong magistrate Mr. Daniel G. NewLand has turned the act of multiple voter registration as being criminal.

Mr.NewLand said NEC does not have a sophisticated system to trace those who are involved in the unlawful act of multiple registrations but said there is an alternative way set by the Commission to arrest those would be perpetrators.

Mr. Daniel NewLand in a statement disclosed that the magistrate is working in collaboration with the joint security of Bong County to ensure those electoral frauds and other unlawful acts against the magistrate in county are prevented.

According to him, it has been widely spread in the public that some individuals are in the hobbit of accumulating more than one voter card something he described as a criminal act and threatened to harshly punish perpetrators of said act.

Multiple registrations and voters’ trucking are cases that have overwhelmed the National Elections Commission during electioneering processes in Liberia.

Many politicians who are involved with these alleged acts desperate to keep enjoying state power after failing to impress their electorates under their leadership.

Several counties including Bong, Bomi, Grand Gedeh, Montserrado, Margibi, among others have registered both multiple registrations and trucking as few individuals have been arrested for their actions.

Recently, there was protest held by aggrieved women groups in Bomi County over the high rate of trucking electorates with a call for probe and an immediate halt in the process.

According to them, they have denied on several occasions by NEC staffs to register adding that these centers are always over populated by strangers.

Prior to the protest by the women group in Tubmanburg, Bomi County, the Inter Religious Council of Liberia condemned the rampage of trucking of electorates by would-be politicians.

“The act of trucking to gain state power is a serious threat to our fragile democracy and peace. We can’t accept this act. Let those involve stop now because we are not prepare for any negative thing in this country” the statement continued.

The IRCL also slammed reports of under-aged children being registered to participate in the December 8, 2020 Senatorial election.

“As we are aware, the Voting age in Liberia is 18 years and above; any person registering below 18 years is ineligible and such action is considered as a fraud and a criminal act. This should be taken seriously by the authorities and community leaders. Those individuals should be exposed and brought to justice” the IRCL asserted.

The National Elections Commission, tasked with the responsibility of managing public elections for the Liberian People in line with the laws of Liberia and international best practices as well as administering and enforcing all laws relative to the conduct of elections throughout the Republic of Liberia, has remained tight-lipped on the numerous reports of irregularities and blemish relating to the Voter roll process as it has not made a formal release to the effects.

In a recent conversation with the commission’s Director of Communications, Mr. Henry Flomo, acknowledged that trucking of financially induced voters is against the electoral laws.

“The commission does not go out looking for cases”, and as such, it remains the sole prerogative of citizens to allow or reject the trucking of commercial voters into their respective districts or counties. Trucking is against the law, but what we can come out to say is-the people out there are the first to either allow or stop trucking. You have a right if you see someone at your polling precinct or registration center to report the matter to the Registrar. You may not know every community member, but you have the right to protest; and that person can be stopped right there. If that person feels uncomfortable, then we have a case right there” Mr. Flomo told the IPNews yesterday.