Liberia's Election Commission Releases Voters Registration Results

Plucky's Observations:

Under Liberian elections laws, You need 20,000 people (based on census, not on registration of voters) to elected one member to the House of Representatives. Without regards to population size, you have two senators and one senator for each county and territory, respectively.
If the laws are followed, and in the absence of a current census, these preliminary results will give the following estimated representations in the House:

Mont. ----- ----- 15.36 (16)
Nimba ---------- 5.65 (6)
Bong ------------ 4.8 (5)
margibi --------- 4.8 (5)
Lofa ------------- 2.46 (3)
Bassa ------------ 2.87 (3)
Gedeh ------------ .792 (1)
Cape Mount ------ 1.13 (2)
Sinoe ----------- .80 (1)
Maryland --------- 1.01 (1)
Bomi -------------- 1.60 (2)
Grand Kru --------- 1
Gbarpolu ---------- 1
Gee --------------- 1
River Cess ------- 1

House might have 49 members and Senate might have 30 members.

Plucky.

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NEC’s Result Out!
Confirms Disproportionate Representation
Central, Northern Blocs Up; Southeast Plummets
2005 Voters Registration Graph

The National Elections Commission (NEC) yesterday, following a month-long voters’ registration exercise, released statistics revealing net registrants as of yesterday, the number of registrants per county, percentage of registrants according to sex and status of habitation, and percentage according to age group.

The Commission said the exercise netted 1.2 million, about 300,000 short of its targeted 1.5 million voters.

Observers say with the close of the voters’ registration exercise on May 21, the National Elections Commission (NEC), the body charged with the mantle to conduct the elections, and with only a two-week extension proffered to Liberians with UNHCR identification cards, the statistical indication that a significant number of registrants came from the central and northern counties while the Southeast plummeted is unlikely to be altered.

The Results

The National Elections Commission (NEC) told a press conference yesterday that the voter’s registration process has ended on May 21 and that it got approximately 1.2 million eligible Liberians that will take part in the 11 October presidential and parliamentary polls.

The 1.2 million registered voters figure, according to the commission, is expected to rise when the figures of week II and III are added as soon as they brought to NEC’s central office.

Meanwhile, statistics compiled from field reports indicate that Montserrado County has so far recorded 38 percent (about 307, 283 registrants) of the total registered voters.

The Montserrado is followed by Nimba County with 14 percent (113,016 registrants), and 8 percent each in Bong and Margibi counties.


Apart from the three counties, Lofa and Grand Bassa counties recorded 49, 024 and 57,465 registrants respectively thus beating the 20,000-registrant-per-representative mark set by the Constitution.

The NEC statistics show that counties in the southeastern region performed below expectation: Grand Gedeh, 15,840; River Gee, 15,533; Sinoe, 16,085; Grand Kru, 10,345; Maryland, 20,204, and Gbarpolu County, 13,623. Bomi County netted 32,074 and Grand Cape Mount County, 22,631.

NEC Chairperson Frances Johnson-Morris told The Analyst yesterday via cell phone interview that as the figures are, they can not determine which county would have additional representatives apart from the two representatives allocated across the board.

She also said that at the end of the exercise, the total number of registered voters would be divided by 64 (representing the legislators) to know which county would get extra seats in the National Legislature.

Yesterday’s announcement of the 1.2 million registrants followed update on the number of registered voters every two or three days. NEC said this perhaps was intended to keep Liberians abreast or to prove that the Commission was working on top of its plans and policies regarding the process.

At the same time, NEC said “women now account for 48 percent (395,444 registrants) of all potential voters and represented 53 to 54 percent of all registrants during the last two weeks.” The Commission also said that 63 percent of all registrants are aged between 18 and 38. Male registrants netted 52 percent (424,013).

Internally displaced persons (IDPs) currently make up five percent of all registrants with 71 percent of that group opting to register to vote in their county of origin.

Besides the disproportionate statistics, the NEC said it received about 912,661 Registration Forms, without indicating the number of forms released to voter registrars, while forms processed amounted to 819,457.

The Commission also recorded that about 41, 058 IDPs representing 5% of the total registrants.
Disproportionate Representation

The registration process had started on a slow pace but later gathered momentum. Voter Registrars went ahead with their registration process till May 21 when they grounded their tools to await the announcement of the total registrants so far that came yesterday.

The Commission referred to the 1.2 million as “preliminary results” and emphasized that other results were yet to come from faraway counties.

“But the figures as announced are recipe for forming a government of disproportionate representation in the first branch of government,” says N. Peter Dior, a student of UL.

According to Dior, the main intent of the transitional government arrangement is to usher in a government of national unity and reconciliation.

Previous election laws/guidelines demarcated the country by 20,000 voters a constituent district meaning that every 20,000 count could produce a representative. That law, if upheld in the present reality, said Dior, the entire southeastern region would be reduced to two lawmakers across the board.

Apart from that, political observers are afraid that this is likely to cause discrepancy at the legislature whereby counties that have the requisite representation might endeavor to outweigh those with less representation on issues of vital interest.

The Anxiety to Register

When NEC announced its plans for the Voters’ Registration process, many Liberians took wanted to be part of the process intended to resuscitate their country from the cesspool of backwardness.

But the momentum soon died down as it became more and more clear that many rural Liberia will have to walk hundreds of miles over rugged terrains to get to the nearest registration center.

As time went by, according to observers, anxiety became frustration and frustration quickly changed into voter apathy and threats against the holding of elections in October.

Instead of making efforts to remedy the situation that some say disenfranchised many eligible voters, the commission press ahead, challenging eligible voters to brave the gathering storm and register to vote in October.

It was discovered that most counties had less voters’ registration centers, that centers were created in areas that were less populated.

With this, many called on NEC to redraw its plan and place registration centers in towns that are populated but it did not take note. These calls were against the backdrop that voters’ registration center adjustment will encourage more people to register in order to achieve the needed result.

Meanwhile analysts say, unless a miracle happens within the next two weeks, NEC will be unable to do anything to reverse the current plausibility that when it is all over, Montserrado County will be over-represented in parliament while larger counties in the Southeast such as Grand Gedeh and Sinoe will be restricted to two representatives each – courtesy of NEC.

How this level of representation will impact the legislative process vis-à-vis the expected competing interests over meager reconstruction resources is yet unknown.

But there are fears that it is likely than not to work against the interest of a large chunk of Liberia for the next six or more years.