As the National Elections Commission begins the pronouncement of official elections results, the Elections Coordinating Committee (ECC) calls on the opposition Unity Party (UP) and the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) to refrain from announcing unofficial results either on social media or through press conferences.
The announcement of unofficial results by either or both of the parties can be provocative and has the tendency to trigger post-election conflict among their supporters and could turn violent.
In the same manner, ECC urges the NEC to effectively manage the tally of results at the magisterial levels and ensure that political parties do not interfere with the process.
ECC during the early hours of Thursday, October 12, received reports of tension building at the central tally center located at the SKD Sports Complex due to the agents of political parties quarrelling over the number of agents allowed to observe the process.
The NEC needs to properly coordinate the presence of observers and agents at the tally centers in order to prevent tension and reduce the risk of undue influence by agents of political parties.
At the same time, the ECC urges the NEC to announce election results by providing more details including the names and numbers of the precincts and polling places.
The ECC received reports of a fire incident at the tallying center in Gbarnga which disrupted the process. The ECC calls on the Joint Security Taskforce to conduct a swift investigation of the incident.
The ECC further calls on the Joint Security Taskforce to step up its presence at the tallying centers across the country during this critical period of the electoral cycle.
