Verdict: Misleading, President did not restate NEC Boss
Full Text:Shine Liberia, an online blog posted on January 22, 2025, says that President Joseph N. Boakai has reinstated Davidetta Browne-Lansanah as the Chairperson of Liberia’s National Elections Commission (NEC) following a high-profile meeting with senior members of the Unity Party.
The post generated 204 reactions, 117 comments, and 11 shares as of the time of the check.
The National Elections Commission (NEC) is an autonomous public commission responsible for conducting elections for all elective public offices and administering and enforcing all election laws throughout the Republic of Liberia.
The NEC Chairperson in Liberia manages national elections, ensuring fair, transparent, and credible electoral processes by organizing voter registration, implementing electoral laws, supervising vote counting, declaring results, and resolving electoral disputes.
Browne Lansanah serves as the Chairperson of NEC in Liberia. Initially, she was nominated as co-chair on 3 April 2020 and subsequently appointed as chairperson on 10 April 2020 under the George M. Weah administration.
In the press release issued on January 15, 2025, President Boakai suspended the NEC boss due to administrative misconduct, including the unilateral closure of NEC offices and the dismissal of 25 employees without proper consultation.
Verification: To verify this claim, Shine Liberia was contacted via WhatsApp. The blog responded that such information had not been confirmed. In addition, Shine deleted the post from their Facebook page after we contacted them.
Kula Fofana, Presidential Press Secretary, described the claim made by Shine Liberia as untrue.
Conclusion: Based upon the information gathered from both the Presidential Press Secretary and Shine Liberia, the claim that the Liberian president has reinstated the NEC chairperson is misleading.
