TO THE LIBERIAN COMMUNITY, WASHINGTON, D.C. METRO AREA
 
Greetings!  The Elections Commission is excited to announce that after much deliberation by the Board of Directors, all candidates contesting the 2008 Elections have been cleared to compete.  The Elections Commissions is proud to present the slate of candidates to the community.  The Elections Commission has received applications from two campaign groups for the delineated positions as follows:

                                               

 

                                                         JOHNSON/HARRIS                     KEAR/SMITH
PRESIDENT                                    Ernest B. Johnson                              Lucy T. Wilson-Kear

VICE PRESIDENT                          Florence Fahnbulleh Harris               Trokon Smith

SECRETARY GENERAL               George Kollie                                    Cianna Cooper

TREASURER                                   Irene Fiawoo                                     Fatu Macintosh

FINANCIAL SECRETARY             Lena Konah                                      Alexander A. Bazzie

ULAA REPRESENTATIVE 1          Moses L. Watson                              Delano Sonii King

ULAA REPRESENTATIVE 2          Rev. Sam W. Harris                          Emmanuel Roy Smith, Sr.

  
The DEBATE and ELECTIONS will be conducted at Long Branch Community Center, 8700 Piney Branch Road, Silver Spring, Maryland 20901.  The front desk number at the center is 301-431-5702.

The debate will take place on March 2, 2008 from 2:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.  The tentative agenda for the debate is as follows:

A.      Introduction of Occasion                                      Garpue Barchue -Member - ECOM 2008          

B.      Opening Prayer                                                   Rev. Edwin Lloyd - Member - ECOM 2008

C.      Ground Rules & Logistics                                    Isaac Vah Tukpah, Jr. - Chairman - ECOM 2008

D.      Introduction of Candidates
a.       Kear/Smith Ticket                                       Kear/Smith Representative
b.      Johnson/Harris Ticket                                   Johnson/Harris Representative

E.       DEBATE                                                            Panel

F.       Audience Questions  

G.      Announcements & Vote of Thanks                       Ibrahim Dukuly - Member - ECOM 2008

H.                        Benediction                                                      Rev. Edwin J. Lloyd - Member - ECOM 2008
 
The format of the debate will be as follows:

1.                  Each candidate will make a 3 minute presentation on why they want to serve the community and what their plans are with respect to their position and the community as well as how they expect to be successful.

2.                  Each candidate will be asked at least two questions on issues relevant to their position or the community.  The candidates will have 3 minutes to respond to each question and their counterpart (or any member of the opposing camp) will be given two minutes to rebut, clarify, or expand.  Finally the candidate will be given one minute to close out the question.

3.                  The Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates will then be questioned alternately on their tickets/platforms, as well as issues and challenges affecting the community association, ULAA, Liberians in the US, and Liberia. 

4.                  The audience will be given an opportunity to ask questions through pre-filled forms that will be distributed at the beginning of the program.

 
Community members can submit additional questions to lca2008elections@kendejah.com or any Elections Commissioner (Messeh5@comcast.net; jedwinlloyd@yahoo.com;ibra_dukuly@yahoo.com; itukpah@kendejah.com) by email.

 

A brief summary of key elections dates are as follows. 
OFFICIAL DEBATE OF ALL CANDIDATES (2PM - 6PM)                                          MAR 2, 2008

 
ISSUANCE OF VOTERS REGISTRATION CARDS                                                      MAR 2-6, 2008

 
PUBLICATION OF FINAL VOTERS REGISTRATION LIST                                       MAR 6, 2008

 
ELECTIONS (NOON - 7PM)                                                                                            MAR 9, 2008

 
ANNOUNCEMENT OF ELECTIONS RESULTS                                                           MAR 9, 2008

 

The Elections Commission appreciates the interest and collaboration of the community working to ensure a highly participative, fair, unbiased, and fluid election.  Please share with and forward this communication to as many community members as you can. 
 
Sincerely,
Isaac Vah Tukpah, Jr.

Chairman