As the National Elections Commission (NEC) begins the Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) process today, Monday, March 20, 2023, the President of Tabital Pulaaku Liberia (TPL), Youssouf Barry, is calling on all citizens of the Republic of Liberia to take advantage of the opportunity to have themselves registered, in order to have the power to exercise their democratic franchise come October 10, 2023 Presidential and Legislative Elections.
In a release issued over the weekend, President Barry said, “As we applaud the National Elections Commission (NEC) for the stride in making the 2023 Elections a resounding success, we would like to call on all Liberians, especially members of the Fulani Community in Liberia who are either born or naturalized citizens, to register and vote or be voted for in the ensuing 2023 Presidential and Legislative Elections.”
According to the release, “Election is an opportunity for people to vote for their preferred leaders who will represent their interest and effect the necessary changes that will improve their lives. Voting is your civic duty, and it is essential because it pushes a country’s democracy to function in a fair and equal way. We are convinced that the whole point of a democracy is to ensure that everyone has a chance to elect a candidate and vote for policies that represent and benefit their communities.’’
“We call on all Liberians to embrace this sacred duty of voting by registering and encouraging others to do the same. According to Article 80 C of the Constitution, ‘Every Liberian citizen shall have the right to be registered in a constituency, and to vote in public elections only in the constituency where registered, either in person or by absentee ballot; provided that such citizen shall have the right to change his voting constituency as may be prescribed by the Legislature.’”
According to the group, “In time past, there were issues of certain groups of people being denied the right to register, and in some instances, the right to vote. By and large, this kind of ugly situation had raised tension and division, and sometime led to demonstration. We call on the National Elections Commission (NEC) and concerned parties to ensure that these undemocratic practices never reoccur again.
“As an organization, we will play a key role in raising awareness of the relevance of everyone participating in the registration process while also calling on everyone to restrain from any form of violence and or acts that will undermine the conduct of the election,” the group added.