LIBERIA: Displaced threaten election disruption

[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

MONROVIA, 15 Sep 2005 (IRIN) - Leaders of the tens of thousands of people still displaced two years after the end of civil war in Liberia, are threatening to disrupt next month’s historic peace-sealing polls unless they receive help to get home to vote.

"If we are not resettled before elections, we, the IDP leadership of all the camps in Liberia, have decided not to allow any polling materials in the camps on 11 October," said Stephen Musa, leader of the internally displaced people at Wilson Corner, one of the largest camps, on Wednesday.

Poor weather, bad roads and lack of funding have hampered plans to get all the country’s IDPs home in time for the vote. Around 100,000 - or a third of the 314,000 originally displaced by war - continue to live in UN-run camps and other settlements around the capital.

The West African country’s National Elections Commission amended polling regulations last week to enable people stuck in the camps to vote for their choice of president and vice president in the first poll held since a peace deal in 2003.

But Musa told IRIN the amendment remained unsatisfactory because it failed to allow camp dwellers to vote for members of the House of Representatives or for the Senate.

"The decision made by the NEC is not fair to us as it denies our rights to choose our legislative candidates," Musa said.

More than 1.35 million Liberians have registered to vote in the poll. Although just five percent are IDPs, three quarters who did sign up to vote had opted to cast their ballot in their county of origin.

The threat of disruption during the vote, slated to return peace to a country ravaged by 14 years of war, triggered a firm response from the UN Mission in Liberia, UNMIL, which has 15,000 peacekeepers overseeing security.

“The mission will take firm action against any individuals or groups who engage in activities that may disturb the peace before, during and after elections," an UNMIL statement said.

Last month, the UN had warned that funds were running low to resettle 64,000 people living outside camps, in so-called spontaneous settlements outside Monrovia.

UNMIL reports said the return of IDPs ground to a halt during the first week of September. To date just over 213,000 people have been assisted back to their home communities by UN agencies since the conflict ended. But as the election deadline approaches, many dirt roads have become impassable due to heavy seasonal rains, an UNMIL report said.

IDP leader Musa told IRIN that the return process was too slow and that facilities in home counties, such as clinics, schools and housing, remained far from sufficient.

Frances Johnson-Morris, head of the NEC, told IRIN that the electoral body was doing its best to encourage international agencies to speed up returns but could not condone any activity that could disrupt voting.

"While we respect anyone's decision not to vote in the election, we cannot tolerate actions that seek to deny other registered voters, who may wish to participate in the election, the opportunity to do so," she said.

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