Political Parties Reaffirm Commitment to Upholding Farmington Declaration for Peaceful Elections
The political parties including the Economic Freedom Fighters of Liberia (EFFL), Alternative National Congress (ANC)/ Collaborating Political Parties (CPP), the Unity Party, and the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) among others made the commitment at a day-long workshop organized by the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue and partners to monitor social media, held in Sinkor.
Political parties in attendance committed themselves to the following clause of the Farmington Declaration for responsible social media including, desisting from campaigns that involve human rights abuses, hate speech, and all forms of violence among others.
Making remarks, CDC Chairman, Montserrado Chapter and Chairman of all County Chairs, Atty. Alexander Saylee assured the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue and its partners about the party’s commitment to the process leading to peaceful elections in the country. Atty. Saylee encouraged all political parties to caution their partisans against posting social media content that could spark violence,
Also speaking, UP National Chairman, Luther Tarpeh acknowledged the critical role social media plays in the Country’s elections. Rev. Tarpeh pledged the UP commitment to responsible social media with calls on all supporters of the ruling or opposition, mostly young people to refrain from inciting comments and acts that have the ability to undermine the election process.
Also making remarks, the country program Manager at the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, Emmanuel N. Bawoh lauded the political parties for their commitment to upholding the Country’s peace.
Mr. Bawoh also used the occasion to call on every political leader to use their social media pages to promote peaceful elections.
In April, political parties and independent candidates affirmed their commitment to a peaceful electoral process by affixing their signatures to the revised edition of the Farmington River Declaration.
The declaration, signed under the auspices of ECOWAS, the UN, and Liberia’s National Elections Commission (NEC) called on all political parties and independent candidates to abide by all rules and regulations governing elections. It also called on them to refrain from all acts that could cause violence and to seek redress through the court.
