New Survey Shows Trust In NEC Remains Weak
MONROVIA – A survey conducted by the Center for Democratic Governance revealed that only one-third of Liberians have confidence in the National Elections Commission (NEC).
This latest report comes in just six months before the general and presidential elections.
According to the Afrobarometer survey, while public confidence in the National Elections Commission has dropped by 10 percent, the majority of Liberians believe that their last national elections were free, fair, and transparent.
The reports came as the NEC launched Liberia’s first biometric voter registration (BVR).
This year’s transition from a manual voter card to a biometric voter card, if well managed, will present an opportunity for the NEC to regain its image by producing a credible voter roll, according to the afro-barometer.
Key findings in the reports indicated that only one-third (34%) of Liberians say they trust the National Elections Commission “somewhat” or “a lot,” a decline of 10 percentage points since 2018 (Figure 1).
Six in 10 citizens say elections do not work well to ensure that members of the House of Representatives (61%) and senators (60%) reflect the views of voters. But a majority (55%) think elections do enable voters to remove leaders who don’t do what the people want.
More than three-fourths (78%) of Liberians say political parties that lose an election should cooperate with the government, while only 22% say the opposition should instead focus on holding the government accountable.
Almost three-fourths (73%) of citizens think it is unlikely that powerful people can find out how they voted (Figure 4).
An overwhelming majority (85%) of citizens say the 2017 elections were “completely free and fair” (59%) or “free and fair with minor problems” (26%).
survey research network that provides reliable data on African experiences and evaluations of democracy, governance, and quality of life. Eight survey rounds in up to 39 countries have been completed since 1999. Round 9 surveys (2021/2023) are currently underway.
