NTLA PASSES RESOLUTION FOR THE POSTPONEMENT OF ELECTIONS 2005
May 13, 2005
Author: J. Cholo Brooks / Liberia
As many would be voters seem to worriy over the poor conduct of the current voter's registration exercise, the National Transitional Legislative Assembly (NTLA) Tuesday passed a resolution, calling for the postponement of the October 11, 2005 general and presidential elections in Liberia to December of this year.
In the resolution, the Liberian lawmakers recalled that during the course of their deliberations on the Electoral Reforms Bill submitted to early this year by the National Elections Commission (NEC), several concerns were raised by its members on the system of representation in the House of Representatives and the practicability of voter's registration, when thousands of citizens are still in internally displaced camps, coupled with bad road conditions throughtout the country that would make movement of citizens "extremely difficult".
The lawmaker in their resolution contended that in spite of the sustained positions on these matters,bad public sentiments robed the Liberian people of the opportunity to have critically aanalyzed the problems asthey weredebated in the assembly.
The NTLA said it has realized that the National Elections Commission (NREC) put into place mechanisms for the conduct of elections on October 11, 2005 consistent with the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).
However, the assembly asserted that the non-establishment of voter's registration centers in many parts of the country would disallow thousands of eligible Liberians from registering for their inability to walk long distances from theitr towns and villages to voter;s registration centers established in their respective counties, thereby denying them the right to vote in the coming October elections.
The lawmakers said they took note of information provided by NEC that mobile voter's registration teams would be put in place to reach citizens in their twons and vilages to register them where centers are not provided or established.
With these concerns by citizens, the NTLA in its resolution called on the NEC to effect changes in the electoions timetable to reflect existing realities in the country, i.e, the campaign moth of September be chjanged to November and the election be conducted in Dece,mber 2005. "The inaugural day remains the same; the month of September is the height of the rainy season. Campaigning during this time will be worsened," the resolutrion which was signed by 41 of the 76 legislators stressed.
One of the abstained lawmakers spoken, to expressed his un-willingness to agree with his colleaguesin the passage of the resolution, "I am one of those who refused to attest by signature to this document, because I feel the delay of this process will required funds which will be difficult to get," a lawmaker who refused to be named said.
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As many would be voters seem to worriy over the poor conduct of the current voter's registration exercise, the National Transitional Legislative Assembly (NTLA) Tuesday passed a resolution, calling for the postponement of the October 11, 2005 general and presidential elections in Liberia to December of this year.