NEC denies paying over US$160,000 to local vendor

The National Elections Commission (NEC) has been forced to react to reports alleging that it paid a local vendor over US$160,000 for services never rendered. The allegations come ahead of two major by-elections.

Monrovia, April 19, 2024: The National Elections Commission (NEC) says its attention has been drawn to a malicious report circulating in the media alleging “financial malpractices” at the NEC.

Through a press release, the Commission noted that the report alleges that the NEC paid over US$160,000 to a local vendor “for services that were never rendered.”

The commission described the report as baseless, which has gone viral on social media with varying interpretations on different news platforms.

In no uncertain terms, the NEC categorically denied these allegations and described them as fake news and disinformation.

The NEC lamented that the report is a continuation of attempts by mischievous individuals to impugn the hard-earned characters of the NEC Chairperson and others in the Commission for selfish reasons.

The NEC assured the Liberian people and the public that all budgeted procurable goods for the Nimba County Senatorial and Grand Gedeh District #1 Representative By-elections were procured and delivered to the NEC Central Warehouse, following all the procurement rules and with all the documentary trails required for checks and balances.

The NEC detailed that its procurement process for the By-elections was done in line with the Public Procurement and Concession Commission Act and that there is no record to prove such a dangerous and baseless claim. 

On the contrary, it said that all materials already available in the NEC Central Warehouse for the By-Elections were never budgeted for procurement.

Finally, the NEC called on all journalists and stakeholders to always contact the Commission, with whatever evidence they may have, before publishing these kinds of misinformation that have the propensity to undermine the hard-earned credibility of other Liberians.

He noted that there may be unscrupulous people sitting in privileged positions bent on using disinformation to undermine the credibility of others.—Press release