BUCHANAN, Grand Bassa – The chairman of the governing Unity Party, Wilmot Paye, has expressed concern over President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s ‘secret’ meeting with magistrates of the National Elections Commission.

Paye said what Sirleaf did was unprecedented, adding that “it has never happened not even in our electoral policy – not in 2005, certainly not in 1997, not even in 2011, not in any of the elections including by-elections.”

He urged the National Elections Commission to maintain its neutrality to validate the country’s emerging democracy.

He added: “The guarantors of our peace; the [United Nations], [the European Union], [the Economic Community of West African States], Great Britain, United States of America, African Union; who in 2003 precipitated the comprehensive peace accord and promised Liberians that this country and its people were tired and were moving forward with their lives, we want to urge them and bring this to their attention that anybody for whatever reason you have your right to support any of the 20 candidates, but the presidency of Liberia is not a piece of property to be waived to whomever you want to waive it to.”

Paye’s statements were made in Buchanan last Monday when the Unity Party recently launched its campaign.

The chairman of the National Elections Commission, Jerome Korkoya, acknowledged that he and 19 NEC magistrates met with Sirleaf at her home, where she reiterated her call for a transparent, free, and fair election. He said contrary to the widespread claims in the media, their interaction was not in secret, but held in the open as there were some international partners present.

Korkoya said the presence of the magistrates was to give them the opportunity to hear for themselves the president’s commitment to a fair election process.

He added that the meeting with the president was held after the magistrates had just completed training in legal reporting on elections in Monrovia.

The meeting has claimed the attention of several political parties on the grounds that they think it was intended for the president to influence the election in favor of a particular candidate.

Featured photo by Zeze Ballah