By Joseph Tumbey

The Liberia Elections  Coordinating  Committee ECC with  United states Agency for International Development USAID  launched  little over  US$1.4M  project “The Liberia Domestic Elections Observation (LIDEO) activity”    to run from February 28, 2023 — August 28, 2025

Accordingly,  the  project is  aimed  at  enhancing voter confidence in the electoral processes results, to the extent warranted, and to mitigate electoral violence and tension through evidence based and  responsive election observation reporting to the public. 

Speaking at the launch  of the project over the weekend,  the ECC Board Chairman, Cllr. Oscar Bloh said “the project will adopt a three-pronged approach: The first approach is to increase citizens’ confidence in the electoral process and its outcome through the observation of the various components of the electoral cycle and releasing timely information to the public on the findings. 

The second approach is to enhance stakeholders’ engagements which include establishing and maintaining strategic relationships with diverse stakeholders including NEC, political parties, security sector and the media. These engagements are intended to share information, collective problem-solving and to harness the efforts of all stakeholders to contribute to a free, fair and credible election. The third approach is electoral reforms advocacy. This will include consultations with stakeholders on reforms that need to take place based on their  experience of participating in the 2023 elections as well as the outcomes of the ECC’s observation efforts”. 

Meanwhile,  Cllr.  Bloh noted  that  the ECC   will deploy 92 Long Term Observers (LTOs) which includes 19 County Coordinators and 73 electoral Districts Supervisors with   1,200 Short Term Observers  during  the October  2023  election day across the Country. 

According to him, the project  will achieve  strategic objectives which   include  but not limited  to: establishing the ECC Data Center with Apollo Database Management system that  will allow observers to transmit real-time observation data through SMS using coded texts which will be collected and analyzed to produce updated reports. 

He also said,  they will focus on observing   the Biometric Voter Registration Exercise  and campaign activities  to ensure that political parties and independent candidates are in compliance with the laws and regulations.

Meanwhile, the USAID  Mission Director to Liberia, Mr. Jim Wright  characterized their partnership  as breaking new ground and  the first of its kind  USAID is partnering directly with a local organization to implement 

a project of such  scale and scope in Liberia. 

“This partnership is a product of USAID’s new localization initiative,  this initiative recognizes that we need to intentionally integrate the invaluable insights of local partners into our work. 

The development results we produce are therefore likely to be more effective, more resilient, and more equitable when local partners play a lead role in planning our programs, implementing projects, and evaluating progress”, USAID Mission Director emphasized. 

Mr. Wright   urged  ECC  to fully comply with the rules of their partnership  because Congress holds them  accountable for every U.S. taxpayer dollar they spend.

According to him, The 2023 October presidential and legislative elections which the ECC will be helping them  observe represent a critical test for Liberian democracy as it’s the first time since the end of the civil war  Liberia will  be independently leading the entire election cycle-from voter registration to actual voting, and counting of ballots  and Successful elections in October will help Liberia build on its hard won post-civil war democracy.

Going further,  he said ECC will be playing  a significant  role as Election observation provides a valuable tool for improving the quality of elections, exposing problems that can be solved even while elections are ongoing, ensuring adherence to ground rules, deter wrongdoing, and builds public trust in the integrity of the electoral processes. 

“ECC is very qualified to lead the implementation of our election observation project. Since its founding in 2010, the ECC has worked to promote democratic governance in Liberia and built a strong network among donors and civil society organizations. Among ECC’s strengths is its commitment to ensuring a fair electoral process and making objective, evidence-based 

judgments about the conduct of elections”, the USAID  Mission Director to Liberia, Mr.  Jim Wright  asserted.