$17.5 Million for Liberia’s National Elections
Categories: Featured
Written By: Wellington Railey
Story by: Wellington Railey
Photo on Flickr by Paul Jacobson
The United States Agency for International Development, an international partner in Liberia, has awarded a $17.5 million grant to the International Foundation for Electoral Systems for the 2011 presidential elections in Liberia.
The grant will support programs whose overall goal will be to build sustained election management capacity and operations in Liberia. The programs will consist of multiple types of support to Liberia’s National Elections Commission (NEC) to conduct complex election-related exercises over the next couple of years leading up to 2011, such as the delineating of the constituency boundaries, conducting referenda on constitutional and electoral laws, voter registration, and civic education.
The new programs also include comprehensive capacity-building for all NEC officials in every department, including the 19 electoral magistrate offices throughout Liberia. This award affirms US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s statement of support for the NEC during her recent visit to Liberia. The announcement of the United States’ new support to Liberia’s NEC was made at a joint press conference on Tuesday, October 27, at the Commission’s Media Center Monrovia.
Participating in the press conference were NEC Chairman James Fromayan, IFES-World President, William “Bill” Sweeney, IFES Regional Director for West Africa, Almami Cyllah, USAID–Liberia’s Acting Mission Director, Carolyn “Teddy” Brian, and Democracy and Governance Lead Officer, Sean Hall. The president of the International Foundation for Electoral System, Bill Sweeney, expressed satisfaction of the works done National Elections Commission in Liberia, adding, that IFES is committed to democracy in Liberia and to helping the country continue to make strides in developing its democratic systems, institutions and processes.
USAID-Liberia is also providing support through UNDP for the upcoming November 10, 2009 senatorial by-election in Montserrado County to enable the NEC to conduct public information outreach and prepare polling station materials for smooth operations on Election Day.
In March 2010, USAID’s Liberia Community Infrastructure Program (LCIP) will hand over the new headquarters of the NEC currently under construction through another grant from the American people valued at over US$2 million.
November 2nd, 2009 at 11:38 am
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