The Perspective
Atlanta, Georgia
March 20, 2023

Presented to members of the International Community and national stakeholders represented by: 

1. The National Legislature
2. The National Elections Commission (NEC)
3. The Inter-religious Council (IRC)
4. Liberia Council of Churches (LCC)
5. The Mano River Union (MRU)
6. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
7. The African Union (AU)
8. The European Union Delegation (EU)
9. The Embassy of the United States of America
10. The United Nations and its Agencies (UN)

PREAMBLE

WHEREAS, Article 39 of the Constitution of the Republic of Liberia provides for the holding of a National Population and Housing Census every ten years to inform the government’s policy decision-making for the socio-economic and political development of the country;

WHERAS, IN CONTRAVENTION of this constitutional provision, the government delayed the National Population and Housing Census much beyond the stipulated constitutional timeframe;

WHEREAS, Article 80 (d) requires that the results of the Census shall be used by the Legislature to establish the population threshold for each constituency, and also requires the National Elections Commission to reapportion constituencies and electoral boundaries within the Republic of Liberia;

RECALLING THAT the 2023 Population and Housing Census, from the very onset, showed clear signs of being a failure, on account of the poor handling of the process, superimposed further by claims and counterclaims of corruption within the leadership of the Liberia Institute for Geo-information Services (LISGIS);

FURTHER RECALLING THAT, throughout the duration of the Census, scores of citizens across the length and breadth of Liberia were alarmed over the failure of LISGIS to have them counted in this important national information system;

HAVING ANALYZED AND found that preliminary results of the Census are clouded with inherent manipulation of figures, especially with a concentration in the southeastern counties of Grand Kru, River Gee, and Grand Gedeh, thus laying the probable basis to mar the ongoing electoral process;  

KNOWING THAT AS the situation stands, the preliminary results released by LISGIS would in no substantial way be different from the final results;

REFLECTING ON THE ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance Supplementary to the Protocol relating to the Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Management, Resolution, Peacekeeping, and Security, with particular reference to Elections, as contained in Article 2 which states, “No substantial modification shall be made to the electoral laws in the last six (6) months before the elections, except with the consent of a majority of Political actors”;

REFERENCING ALSO, SECTION 2 of the said Article provides that, “All the elections shall be organized on the dates or at periods fixed by the Constitution or the electoral laws.”

 CONSIDERING THE OPINION of the Supreme Court of Liberia in the case:  “IN RE: THE PETITION TO DETERMINE THE CONSTITUTIONALITY OF JOINT RESOLUTION LEG-003/2018 OF THE 54TH LEGISLATURE OF THE REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA SETTING JULY 31, 2018, AS THE DATE FOR THE CONDUCT OF THE BONG AND MONTSERRADO COUNTIES BY-ELECTIONS, APPROVED JUNE 14, 2018 AND PUBLISHED JUNE 19, 2018”, opining that the Legislature and the National Elections Commission (NEC) are without authority to change the date of elections set by the Constitution of Liberia. 

NOW, THEREFORE, WE the major Opposition Political Parties and National Political Leaders have resolved as follows:

1. That we reject the preliminary results of the 2022 National Housing and Population Census recently released by LISGIS, and call on the Legislature and the National Elections Commission not to use the figures of the Census to set population thresholds for constituencies and to reapportion electoral boundaries.  

2. That in consideration of the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance, restraining states party from effecting changes in national or electoral laws six months before a pending election and further informed by the Opinion of the Honorable Supreme Court of the Republic of Liberia, barring the NEC and the Legislature from making decisions with constitutional implications, we request the NEC and the Legislature to refrain from proceeding with any elections-related decision, using the results of the National Housing and Population Census.

3. That, in view of the aforementioned, we call on the National Elections Commission to proceed with the conduct of the 2023 Presidential and Legislative Elections, using the existing electoral boundaries.

4. The political parties herein mentioned convey profound thanks and appreciation to Liberia’s international partners named above, for their unwavering support to the attainment of lasting peace and for their untiring efforts aimed at consolidating pluralistic democracy in Liberia.

DONE IN THE CITY OF MONROVIA, THIS ______ DAY OF ________ AD 2023.

FOR THE MAJOR OPPOSITION POLITICAL PARTIES AND NATIONAL LEADERS:

_________________________________________
Ambassador Joseph N. Boakai
Standard-bearer/Political Leader 
Unity Party (UP)

________________________________________ 
Senator Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence
Political Leader 
Liberty Party (LP)

 ______________________________________ 
Hon. Reginald Goodrigde 
Political Leader 
The Rainbow Alliance (RA)

______________________________________ 
Hon. Benoni W. Urey
Political Leader
All Liberian Party (ALP) 

______________________________________ 
Senator Jeremiah Koon
Political Leader/Standard-bearer
Movement for Democracy and 
Reconstruction (MRD)

_______________________________________ 
Cllr. Tiawan S. Gongloe
Standard-bearer
Liberian People’s Party (LPP)

________________________________________ 
Hon. Jeremiah Warpoe
Political Leader/Standard-bearer
Vision for Liberia’s Transformation
(VOLT)

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