President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf recently met with Women Situation Room of the 2014 Special Senatorial Elections and shared information and reflected on the just ended
electoral process, their role and findings. The delegation was led by the head of the Women Situation Room, Cllr. Yvette Chesson-Wreh.
According to an Executive Mansion release, President Sirleaf thanked the Women Situation Room for the service rendered the country relative to the electoral process and added that their contribution was crucial to the overall success of the Special Senatorial Election.
She pointed out that the elections may not have been perfect due to the different issues and circumstances but stressed that it was held and was successful.
President Sirleaf recognized the rights of those who have expressed grievances about the process and hope that they remain within the confines of the law.
“We had a single woman elected during the elections and so we need to do more to support women and enhance their interest to participate and support women candidates in electoral processes. The year 2017 is crucial for women and elections and the work to be done must start now,” she pointed out.
Speaking earlier, Cllr. Yvette Chesson-Wreh briefed President Sirleaf on the different activities of the Women Situation Room during the just ended electoral process. “We engaged the candidates, NEC officials, preached peace messages, denounced violence, sent out Elections Observers and helped address issues as they unfolded,” she informed the President.
Making interventions, other members of the delegation lifted issues such as the difficulty of some voters to locate voting centers, late start of voting in some places, complaints from some candidate about the process as issues that must be corrected in future elections. They frowned on the low turnout of voters which they put at 25percent and low women’s participation put at just over 2 percent.
Key members of the delegation included Sister Mary Laurene Brown, Liberia Marketing Association’s President Lusu Sloan, Madam Theresa Leigh Sherman, Madam Miatta Beysolow, among others.