2021 By-Election for the House Representatives FINAL REPORT

Eligible Liberians in four districts in Bomi, Bong, Grand Gedeh and Nimba counties went to the polls on November 16, 2021 in by-elections to elect representatives to fill vacant seats in the lower chambers of the Legislature, the House of Representatives. The vacancies in the House were created by the election of four representatives to the Senate in the 2020 Special Senatorial Elections. 33 candidates representing political parties and independents contested the elections including 2 women. The by-elections were conducted within the context of the Covid-19 pandemic requiring the National Elections Commission (NEC) to put in place several measures to prevent the spread of the virus. 

As part of its formative mandate to observe all public elections in the country, three months to the elections, LEON recruited, trained and deployed 20 long-term observers (LTOs) in by-election districts to observe pre- and post-election activities. 144 Short-term observers (STOs) were also recruited, trained and deployed at polling places on elections day to observe and report on all election day activities from opening of polls to counting of results. LTOs and STOs were supervised by Regional Coordinators (RCs) who networked with magistrates, polling staff and other observer groups to validate key findings from observers. Observations by LTOs and STOs were fed into the LEON election data analysis platform, ELMO. Social media monitors (SMMs) provided additional context to the report through their findings on how Liberians were engaging the elections environment on social media. Data clerks and analysts developed the submissions into packaged reports for public consumption. The objective of LEON’s observation was to assess in an independent and impartial manner, the conduct of the by-elections and offer recommendations for future improvement.