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Claim: The Unity Party National (UP) Campaign Spokesperson, Mo Ali, alleged on his Facebook page that the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) government is plotting to rig the run-off election in their favour with the help of ECOWAS Election Observers.
Verdict: False! In another post, Mo Ali clarified that no disbursement was made to ECOWAS to rig the election. Also, ECOWAS Election Observers debunked the claim in a disclaimer.
Full Text
The opposition UP National Campaign Spokesperson, Mo Ali, on Nov. 10, 2023, on his official Facebook page, alleged that the CDC government is plotting to rig the election run-off with the help of election observers.
See the screenshot below:
According to Mo Ali, stewards of the Coalition for Democratic Change, in a meeting with the National Elections Commission (NEC) and ECOWAS election observers, disbursed USD$150,000 to concede the NEC’s biased result.
“At about this afternoon, the very top echelon of the CDC government met and discussed the runoff election and its outcome. In the meeting, they agreed that they can’t win against the UP. Hence, they want to prevail on the NEC commissioners to announce results in their (CDC) favour. As part of the plan, they have disbursed US$150,000 (US$ one hundred fifty thousand) to ECOWAS Delegates here to monitor the elections. The money to the ECOWAS Delegates is intended to induce them to quickly endorse the fake results by stating that such a rigged process was free, fair and credible.
“We want to assure our people that this will be thwarted and their votes will be protected. The NEC will announce the vote results as they were cast by our people.”
Mo Ali’s allegation questioned the integrity of the International Community. Supporters of the Unity Party believed the content disseminated by Mo Ali, but those from the Coalition for Democratic Change considered it a reckless statement. This led DUBAWA to fact-check the claim.
Verification
DUBAWA contacted Mo Ali for evidence to support his claim. Although he has yet to respond, the UP Steward clarified through his official Facebook page on Nov. 12, 2023, admitting no disbursement was made to ECOWAS Election Observers as claimed in his previous post.
“On November 10, 2023, I made a post relative to the Government of Liberia allegedly disbursing US$150,000 to ECOWAS Delegates to affirm would be rigged results from the runoff elections. Our findings have shown that the Government of Liberia did meet and make a plan to disburse the said amount.
“However, it is important to clarify that NO CONTACT was made with ECOWAS ELECTION MONITORS and NO DISBURSEMENT OF CASH was made to them,” Mo Ali said.
Continuing his post, he applauded the ECOWAS for their services offered in Liberia.
“We applaud ECOWAS for their continuing contribution to the consolidation of our democracy, and we call on them to incessantly work in such direction,” Mo Ali said.
Furthermore, ECOWAS Election Observers, on Nov. 11, 2023, released a disclaimer on the allegation made.
“The ECOWAS Observer Mission to the Presidential election in Liberia has noted with regret, a reckless statement made by Mo Ali, National Campaign Spokesperson of the Unity Party, on his Facebook post of November 10, 2023, stating that the ECOWAS Observer Mission had been influenced by USD 150,000 to declare a purportedly rigged election as transparent free and fair.
“The ECOWAS Observer Mission takes strong exception to this scurrilous statement, which puts at risk the safety and physical integrity of the ECOWAS Observers from across West Africa who have come to accompany the good people of Liberia in this pivotal election. The ECOWAS Observer Mission calls on the leadership of the Unity Party to denounce the statement made by its National Campaign Spokesperson that seeks to denigrate the image of ECOWAS,” the press statement reads.
In the post, ECOWAS challenged Mr Ali to provide evidence to support his claim or withdraw his accusation against the international body.
“The ECOWAS Observer Mission challenges Mo Ali to prove this scurrilous accusation or publicly withdraw it immediately and tender an unqualified apology. Failing this, the ECOWAS Observer Mission and the ECOWAS Commission reserve the right to employ all necessary measures to hold him personally accountable for his utterance.”
Conclusion
From the evidence gathered, it is apparent that the claim made by Unity Party Spokesperson Mo Ali is false.
