-As PUL Postpones Elective Congress
Addressing journalists and members of the Press Union of Liberia (PUL) in Monrovia on Tuesday, November 8, 2022 at his Campaign Headquarters on 11th Street in Sinkor, PUL presidential hopeful Julius Kullie Kanubah stated the pending elective congress of the journalists’ union won’t be held without the cleanup and final voters’ roll presented to the electorates for review.
He said in the face of ongoing discussions with the PUL Membership and Congress Committees, all supporters and journalists who are bend on changing the ugly past of the Union to remain to their respective localities throughout Liberia as they work along with the PUL to have the final voters’ roll produced and circulated to all PUL stakeholders.
“We have reached a critical stage of the PUL Congress. We have not received the final listing of the congress. The final PUL membership listing is our Voters’ Roll. We have been working to ensure that the congress is credible to reflect the dignity and integrity of media landscape of Liberia,” Mr. Kanubah stressed.
Commenting further the PUL presidential hopeful told his supporters and Liberian journalists he and team along with the membership of the PUL cannot go to the elections without the final Voters’ Roll being presented for review and approval by the general membership, meaning when there are no objections raised by any individual journalist or PUL auxiliaries.
“The guys who aided and abetted the mess at the PUL since the 15 of September have not been able to come up with the final voters’ roll. Stay calm and exercise patience, as change is on the way. We will officially communicate with you when the need arises, Thank you for the support, and the civility and calmness you have demonstrated throughout the PUL electoral process thus far.”
Concluding, Mr. Kanubah asked the PUL leadership to ensure a free, fair and transparent election. “PUL president Charles Coffey must ensure a credible election. It is an embarrassment to the PUL that on the eve of election we don’t have a credible voters roll. It is a shame on the Coffey-Nyakonah leadership for failing to come up with a clean voters roll. We will not be mute as we will speak on the issues, as we will not allow the PUL to repeat the ugly election of 2019. We must ensure that dignity is restored at the PUL. We will be discussing the venue of the congress in the midst of the postponement with the PUL leadership.”
PUL Postpones Elective Congress
Outgoing PUL Charles Coffey- He is urged to ensure peaceful, free, fair and transparent elections
Meanwhile, the Leadership of the Press Union of Liberia (PUL) in consultation with its Executive Committee and the 2022 Elective Congress Committee has postponed this year’s Congress.
The PUL in a release said that the Congress initially scheduled for Nov 10-Nov 12 in line with the Union’s Constitution, will now be held from Thursday, Nov 17 to Saturday, Nov 19 in Gbarnga City, Bong County.
The decision according to the statement was reached after the Liberian Government announced that this year’s National Population and Housing Census will kick off on Friday, Nov 10, which falls on the second day of the PUL Congress.
The decision, which was also reached in consultation with the candidates in the pending election, is intended to allow members of the Union across the country as well as invited personalities stay in their localities and be counted.
Meanwhile, all activities of congress including invited guests, speakers, and observers remain intact for the rescheduled date.
Kanubah for PUL President Campaign Team Demands Audit of Voters Roll
Some members of Team Kanubah who are demanding a cleaned-up Voters’ Roll
It can be recalled the Julius Kanubah for PUL President Campaign Management Team in a press statement on Tuesday, November 1, said it discovered a countless number of irregularities and fraud in the Union’s just-ended membership registration exercise, adding that the full membership identification cards have allegedly been traded to anyone only for the naked quest for power.
“This act of fraud undermines the sanctity of this great institution founded to protect democracy and promote the rule of law,” the statement said.
Next weekend, specifically on November 12, eligible voting members of PUL are expected to converge in Gbarnga, Bong County, to cast their ballot for one of two candidates, in the election, which is expected to be highly contested among Kanubah and Daniel Nyakonah. Nyakonah is the current Vice President, who wants to replace Mr. Charles Coffey, the Union’s current President.
The Kanubah Campaign Team for PUL President statement said it has observed that the PUL, founded more than 50 years ago, has lost its taste and is being hijacked by a few for their selfish desire without any track record of making it a better institution for tomorrow.
The Kanubah Campaign Management Team further said it has written the elections and inauguration committee headed by Attorney Ade Wede Kerkulah on what it said are wanton frauds on the Membership listing.
The team said it has presented a road map to the PUL Elections and Inauguration Management Team to ensure a clean Voters roll for the November 12 elections regarding the credibility and integrity of the membership records after the membership committee confirmed that the voters roll needs cleaning.
PUL two presidential candidates incumbent vice president Daniel Nyakonah hoping to succeed outgoing PUL president Charles Coffey (left) and presidential challenger and hopeful Julius K. Kanubah (right) at the LMDI debate on Monday.
According to the Kanubah for PUL President Campaign Management Team’s statement, the membership committee and elections Committee have agreed with team Julius Kanubah that the Union’s 2022 membership records are fraught with irregularities and fraud following examination of evidence.
“In our submission, accompanied by a number of substantial pieces of evidence, the Elections Committee is insisting that the already faulty Membership roll be cleaned by the very Membership Committee that created the mess”, it said.
Flashback: In 2019 an injunction was placed on the PUL election over the same bloated Voters’ Roll saga. This time PUL members wants a cleaned-up Voters Roll circulated before the 2022 elections.
Meanwhile, the Julius Kanubah National Campaign Management Team’s statement said because of its vested interest in the PUL elections and would want the process to be done by a neutral body, it has made the following recommendations:
The establishment of an independent panel to comprehensively and thoroughly audit the Voters Roll.
That the independent panel be made of two Representatives each from the Reporters Association of Liberia (RAL),
Female Journalists Association of Liberia (FeJAL),
Sports Writers Association of Liberia (SWAL),
Publishers Association of Liberia (PAL),
Legislative Press Pool (LEGISPOOL),
Executive Mansion Press Corps,
National Media Council of Liberia (NMCL),
Association of Liberian Community Radios (ALICOR),
National Civil Society Council of Liberia (NACSCL)
That the presidential and vice-presidential candidates designate two representations each to form part of the independent panel.
That this special panel be jointly headed by the National Civil Society Council of Liberia and the National Media Council of Liberia, while the other associations of the Union or auxiliaries serve as members.
Signed by Raymond Zarbay, chairman of the Kanubah Campaign management Team, the statement said it wants the PUL leadership to provide all application forms for newly registered members from 2019 to 2022 to collate and analyze them for verification.
“To our supporters, we ask that you remain calm as we endeavor every necessary framework that will take us to a free, fair, credible and transparent election. We will leave no stone un-turn and if we are not in the position to making sure this is done, our Union will continue to trek the path of dishonesty for the sake of power,” the statement concluded.
