Voted by Their Feet: A New Meaning to Elections Credibility in Liberia’s Ended Senate Vote

Monrovia, 22 December 2014

The turnout in Liberia’s ended Senate vote was remarkably low. While Ebola fear has been cited as main reason for the low turnout – this assessment may be an over simplification of something much more complex. New questions to the meaning of elections credibility is being raised for which answers must be found.

There were number of uncertainties around the conduct of the vote. Firstly, the impact of the raging Ebola virus disease in October 2014 meant that the National Elections Commission could not live up to its initial timetable to host the senate elections on October 14, 2014. A Joint Resolution of both houses of Liberia’s Legislature authorized the NEC to host the special senatorial elections no later than 20 December 2014. The NEC worked up a new timetable and declared 16 December 2014 as the date of the senate elections.

The NEC decision was challenged in the country’s Supreme Court by two political parties. As a result of the petition of the parties, a writ of prohibition was issued on the holding of the elections. According to this order dated 28 November 2014, NEC was instructed to ‘stay any and all actions in respect of the Senatorial Elections and that all elections activities are to cease forthwith’ and to inform all of the senatorial candidates and political parties that the ‘elections activities and campaigns are suspended pending the disposition of the petition[i]’.

A sense of limbo existed as the country waited the completion of the legal process that was before its highest court.

On Saturday, 13 December 2014, the Supreme Court lifted the stay order, paving the way for the NEC to convene the elections. This left the NEC with three days to 16 December. The NEC declared 20 December 2014 as the new date for the holding of the special elections. This gave the elections body and the candidates barely a week for the holding of the vote.

The international community kept its eye closely on this situation. The pillars of stability are still being strengthened; elections are seen as conflict triggers in the post-conflict society.  

This period coincided with the renewal of the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL). On 15 December, the UN Security Council in Resolution 2190 (2014) acting under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, adopted a resolution to extend UNMIL’s mandate to 30 September 2015.

UNMIL’s mandate has in it very specific language dealing with role in the special senatorial elections of 2014, as specified under section 10 (d) (i) below:

‘To assist the Government of Liberia with the Senatorial Elections by providing logistical support, particularly to facilitate access to remote areas, coordinating international electoral assistance and supporting Liberian institutions and all Liberian stakeholders, including political parties, in creating an atmosphere conducive to the conduct of peaceful elections, including through UNMIL Radio[ii]’.

Representatives of the diplomatic community issued a ‘Joint Statement on the Special Elections in Liberia’ urging among other things for parties to adhere to the proper procedures for complaints and disputes.

ECOWAS announced its plan to send international observers.

The stake was seen to be too high to be left in the hands of Liberians only.

Despite the short notice, local civil society organizations managed to train and deploy 2,000 observers, tapping into their already existing networks in the country.

Under the circumstances of the uncertainties brought about by the legal wrangle, accusations and counter accusations mainly in Monrovia between supporters of opposition CDC and independent candidate Robert Sirleaf, the son of the President, NEC must be commended for planning the logistics and the conduct of the vote in what the Elections Coordinating Committee (ECC) declared as ‘peaceful, free, fair, credible and transparent’ despite ‘isolated cases of irregularities[iii]’.

Many people voted with their feet. They exercised their right not to vote. They have left, to the few who turned out to vote to decide for them on a number of important things. There does not exist a yardstick  on how high or how low a turnout should be to determine elections credibility. But the question regarding voting apathy must concern political observers. The permutation in terms of voting outcome can clearly be shifted based on turnout. A number of questions will be explored when the final outcome is known:

Will Liberia be able to increase the number of female elected officials in its Senate? Of the 139 candidates in the special elections, 20 were female accounting for 14.3 %. Three of the incumbent female Senators (Montserrado, Margibi, and Bong) were contesting for reelection. There is a risk that direct participation and the role of women in electoral politics will be undermined.

The generally absent issue-based debates where there are numerous issues that can distinguish one candidate from the other in the political landscape will offer Senate winners with a blank check. Yet experience has shown that these ‘blank checks’ are interlaced with coded messages. Electorates in the past have had the tendency to vote out incumbents contending reelections as a direct expression of their disapproval. Preliminary results in the ended Senate vote are showing similar tendencies.

Would more time for the campaign allow for the development of clear contours that would have  separated each candidate from the other in terms of the main issues facing the country? Tackling corruption, inclusive economic development and jobs; transitional justice and dealing with the outcome of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report and recommendations; decentralization reform, reform of the public sector; a health and education system that fail many.

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[i] Petition for A Writ of Prohibition in the Honorable Supreme Court of the Republic of Liberia November 28, 2014

[ii] United Nations Security Council Resolution 2190 (2014)

[iii] Special Senatorial Election 2014, Preliminary Report of December 21, 2014 by the Elections Coordinating Committee (ECC)