With a reduction of the international presence in Liberia and a planned full withdrawal of the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in 2018 the country needs to continue to strengthen its national institutions and processes to conduct elections in a credible and sustainable manner.
Liberia’s third general elections are underway since the signing of the 2003 Accra comprehensive peace agreement that ended 14 years of conflict. These elections mark a key milestone in Liberia’s consolidation of its nascent democracy and are a crucial test for state and independent institutions in Liberia.
Security provision for electoral material and for voting on polling day is key to maintaining public confidence in the elections.
It is in this vein that, the Government of Germany has contributed US$200,000 to security deployment, in continuation of enhancing and strengthening support to elections security in the Country.
The Government of Germany on the eve of the elections signed an agreement with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The Ambassador to Germany H.E Hubert J. Jäger signed on behalf of his Government while UNDP Deputy Country Director for Programmes signed on behalf of the Country Director Pa Lamin Beyai.
According to Ambassador Jäger the objective is to support the deployment of over 5,000 security officers by contributing to their daily living allowances on Election Day, a run-off if held and provide secure transfer of election materials.
“Effective deployment of security personnel prior to, during and after these elections remain critical to the sustenance of Liberia’s peace process” Ambassaddor Jager noted.
The Support from the Germans also takes in consideration the establishment of a hotline at the Governance Commission (GC) to deal with grievances that may require mediation by the Mediation Committee established under the auspices of the Inter-Religious Council.
This support will help boost the contribution of the Japanese Government’s 1.4million.
Germany has been a key partner in the immediate post-war period of Liberia. It supported the induction process of new Legislators and the subsequent emergency capacity building projects such as, TOKTEN and Senior Executive Service (SES).
Contact For more information or media interviews, please contact:
James Monibah-Programme Analyst Emailjames.monibah@undp.org /Tel:+231/776531655
Augusta Pshorr, Communications Analyst, augusta.pshorr@undp.org, +231 770 003 819/886 521 425
Sam Zota –National UNV Communications Associate Email: sam.zota@undp.org Tel: +231-886-474-563/770175162
