IPNEWS – One of the legislative aspirants in the upcoming Legislative Election on October 10, 2023, Mr. Henry Pedro Costa, as described the first phase of the biometric voters registration (BVR) as “flaw” and demand that the National Elections Commission (NEC) “does a much better job.”
Addressing a press conference Tuesday, April 18, 2023, Costa, a controversial talkshow host, the first phase of the BVR was a disaster. He added: “The National Elections Commission of Liberia (NEC) failed to deliver on its mandate to provide a fair, transparent and efficient voter registration process. We saw numerous system failures, including malfunctioning biometric machines, and a lack of properly trained staff.”
Costa, who has expressed his desire to run for Senate in Montserrado County, further stated, “The outcome of this flawed exercise is already evident in the low turnout of individuals eligible to register to be able to vote on October 10, 2023, particularly in areas where these failures were most pronounced. This is unacceptable and considerably calls into question the integrity of the electoral process in Liberia.”
Read Henry_Costa_Statement here
NEC on First Phase
The NEC on Monday, April 17, 2023 released preliminary results from Phase-I of the Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) that illustrates a total of 1,435,209 (one million four hundred thirty-five thousand two hundred and nine) citizens registered for the 2023 October presidential and legislative elections.
According to the NEC, of this number, 711,410 (seven hundred eleven thousand four hundred and ten) are females while 723,799 (seven hundred twenty-three thousand seven hundred ninety-nine) are males.
The Commission emphasizes that this figure is subject to change due to the ongoing deduplication and adjudication process.
At a news conference on Monday, NEC Chairperson Davidetta Brown Lansanah, thanked the UNDP for supporting the Commission with 50 mini generators (5kva) to buttress the provision of electricity for BVR equipment for Phase-II, which begins on April 21 and ends on May 11.
