The Commission Section of the National Elections Commission (NEC), Wednesday officially launched the “NEC Inclusive Elections Art Competition”, with a call to focus on identifying and defeating barriers that can prevent eligible voters from registering or voting in Liberia.
The launching of the NEC inclusive elections Art Competition is with full support from the UN Women, United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Election Project Support Office in Liberia, Irish Aid and Sweden.
Officially Launching the NEC Inclusive Elections Art Competition on the compound of the Commission on 9th Street, in Sinkor, NEC Boss, Madam Davidetta Browne Lansanah said, full access to election is a critical step to overcoming barriers affecting voters including people living with disabilities in Liberia.
She named discrimination and marginalization as barriers affecting the 14 percent of the Liberian population, as registered by the 2008 Liberian census, who are people living with disabilities. This competition, she pointed out, draws attention to these obstacles that we can work together to overcome.
The NEC Boss said as soon as we can start breaking down these barriers, ensuring that all women, youths and people living with disabilities have a level playing field in elections and politics, the sooner we can have an equal voice in elections in Liberia. “An inclusion is critical for sustainable development, peace and stability”, the NEC Chairperson told the gathering.
Representatives from the UN Women, UNPD Governance and Public Institutions, and the Office of the UN Resident Representative all pledged these different bodies’ full support to the project geared toward ensuring inclusiveness in all of the Liberian electoral processes.
A total of three Liberian winners will be selected by a panel, to include technicians from the NEC.
