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Claim: Martin Kollie alleged on his Facebook page that a supporter of the CDC has been made an Observer for the United Nations (UN) in the country’s presidential run-off elections.
Verdict: Misleading! Madam Gradiah Walker Bou Hussein, Associate Development Coordination Officer, Communications and Advocacy at the United Nations Resident Coordinator’s Office in Liberia, said the UN doesn’t deploy observers in elections. Our findings also show that the alleged observer, Amb. Justice Samuel Doe, works for the International Association of World Peace Advocates in the 2023 elections (IAWPA), not the UN.
Full Text
Martin K. N. Kollie, Head of Research and Rapid Response for the opposition Unity Party, in a Facebook post on Tuesday, Nov. 14 said Amb. Justice Samuel Doe is a CDCIAN serving as an observer for the United Nations in the elections.
The post generated 301 reactions, 160 comments, and 236 shares during the time of this report.
“The U.N hired this guy to serve as an observer. This man should not be an observer. He is a diehard partisan of the CDC. He is not independent and neutral,” Martin posted.
Martin’s comment puts the credibility of the international partner at stake in the Liberian 2023 Presidential elections. This led DUBAWA to fact-check the claim.
Verification
DUBAWA first contacted the UN office in Liberia. According to Madam Gradiah Walker Bou Hussein, the Associate Development Coordination Officer, Communications and Advocacy at the United Nations Resident Coordinator’s Office in the country, who said that the United Nations doesn’t deploy observers in elections but witnesses the process.
“Please note that the United Nations does not have observers. The UN also does not observe elections. We only witness it.” Madam Hussein said.
In further verification, DUBAWA decided to do online research about Doe. Social media posts on his Facebook page support the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change in the elections.
In his posts, Doe can be seen promoting President George Weah’s re-election and canvassing for votes for him.
Our research also finds that Doe is an observer in the elections under an international organisation based in Nigeria called the International Association of World Peace Advocates (IAWPA).
A look at Doe’s images shows him by the IAWPA’s banner. In another photo, he wore IWAPA’s branded clothes, as seen below.
Meanwhile, our fact-checker also contacted Doe to verify if he was working with the UN for the election, but he has yet to respond.
See the message screenshot below
Conclusion
Based on our findings, Amb. Doe is a supporter of the CDC but not an election observer of the United Nations.
