By Jerromie S. Walters
Womenvoices has gathered that at different polling in the Township of West Point, Montserrado County, pregnant women are not being given special preference to cast their votes, despite initial commitment by the National Elections Commission (NEC).
During the ongoing elections- pregnant women have been seen among other voters in long queues – at the West Point Old General Market (Polling place #2, and the West Point Adolescent Resource Center polling center, 404-Block B, Township of West Point.
Sadly, the pregnant women, including Maliatu Jalloh told this paper that despite efforts by them to get remedy from NEC workers, they have refused to grant them access. “I went there but the people don’t want to know,” she says.
This, according to them (the pregnant women) have left them with no other option but to stand in the queues. These women who have already been at the different centers for hours, still have tens of persons ahead of them.
On several occasions, the National Elections Commission (NEC) assured Liberians that special preference would have been given to people with special needs during the elections. Sadly, it’s on the contrary in West Point as several pregnant women are challenged by the hot atmosphere because the Commission’s workers have reneged on ensuring that they are given special preference despite their conditions.
Meanwhile, as Liberians vote scores of new leaders today, it appears that they are not taking the day lightly, as scenes from different voting centers have shown the people’s interest in the process amid a huge turnout.
As anticipated, the voting process kickstarted few minutes after 8:00AM at centers our reporter visited across the country, and as one would expect- the have been massive anxiety.
Moreover, the presence of officers of the joint security, parties observers, as well as local and international observers are being felt at the voting centers.
Late yesterday, the National Elections Commission (NEC) Chairperson- Madam Madam Davidetta Browne Lansanah disclosed that all preparatory activities were on course for the conduct of the elections.
“I therefore urge all of the Two Million Four Hundred Seventy-one Thousand Six Hundred Seventeen (2,47 1,617) registered voters across the country to turn out at their various polling places to peacefully cast their ballots for their respective candidates on Tuesday. 10 October 2023.”
Madam Lansanah states- “In closing, the Commission again thanks and assures political leaders as well as all Liberians, all stakeholders and electoral actors that the NEC remains committed to conducting the 10 October 2023 Elcctions in a free, fair and credible manner, as it has been the hallmark of this institution.”
In these elections, the National Elections Commission (NEC) puts the exact figure of electorate at two-million-four-hundred-seventy-one-thousand-six-hundred-seventeen. The figure was contained in data from the final voter roll released on Monday, July 17, 2023, by the NEC Chairperson, Davidetta Browne-Lansanah.
President George Weah is facing about 19 opponents at today’s polls- amid mounting anger over corruption and soaring food prices. If it goes to a second round of voting, three stand out as possible rivals to Weah, a former international football star who in 2017 won more than 61 percent in the second round.
