IPNEWS: The African Platform for Human Rights and Governance (APHRC) is sending a team of observers to be deployed in the various districts in Lofa County at the head of Tuesday’s election.
According to the Group Executive Director, Atty. Bowoulo Taylor Kelley says the team left for Lofa on Sunday and return Wednesday, the team will focus on monitoring the election violence activities and the team of Observers will also consider the entire election cycle.
Atty. Kelley said the team will look at all acts of human rights violence in the county if it occurs before the election on Tuesday.
The group Executive Director added that its team will monitor the six Senatorial Candidates and their key supporters for the statement that will be made to unmind the peace that the country has built over the years.
The Executive Director further added that a group is a new group that will focus on the following: Human rights education/training and litigation, advocacy and research on human rights, and democratic development consultancy on human rights reporting (shadow, alternative reporting to human rights and charter-based treaty bodies), Legislative review and reforms.
The Lofa County bi-election came into being after the former defense minister Brownie Samukai lost his seat following the Supreme Court ruling.
Lofa County currently has 187,775 registered voters that are slated to go to the poll on Tuesday to elect their new Senator.
Those qualified by the NEC to contest in the poll are Momo Tarnuekollie Cyrus (M) Independent Candidate; Mariamu Beyan Fofana (F) Independent Candidate; Joseph Kpator Jallah (M) Independent; and George Beyan Samah (M) Independent Candidate, respectively. Others include Galakpai W. Kortimai (M) Unity Party, and Sumo G. Kupee (M) People’s Unification Party.
However, The African Platform for Human Rights and Governance (APHRG) was established in
January 2021 to fill the lacuna of substantive human rights focus on litigation, human rights education, legal review and reforms, and advocacy-based research.
Moreover, against these problems, the African Platform for Human Rights and Governance has decided to intervene in the human rights landscape to review legislations, and policies, conduct research and advocacy, and propose legislative and policy reforms to alleviate the crisis in the human rights sector.
