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Monrovia-Another situation has erupted at the National Elections Commissions headquarters as the Commission’s website has been shut down after the electoral body allegedly failed to pay its vendor, raising fresh concerns about the Commission’s credibility with local service providers.
A check of the site on Thursday, Sept. 18, showed the Commission’s main information portal and related data were offline. The site is managed by Hak Technology, a Liberian-owned company contracted for two years to provide web services. Sources say NEC has not paid the firm for nearly a year.
Hak Technology’s chief executive officer, Edmund Kloh, declined to comment when contacted. However, sources close to the Commission confirmed the shutdown was linked to nonpayment. The amount owed remains unclear. NEC did not respond to requests for comment.
This is not the first time NEC has faced backlash over unpaid debts. In 2019, M-Tosh Prints Media took the Commission to the Commercial Court for failing to pay more than $171,000 for pre-packed election materials delivered six years earlier.
The court ruled in favor of M-Tosh and ordered NEC to pay, but Chairperson Davidetta Browne Lansanah has not complied. On Aug. 20, 2025, the court ordered sheriffs to shut down NEC’s headquarters and arrest its commissioners if property seized did not meet the debt owed. Sheriffs padlocked the main entrance before NEC’s lawyers persuaded the court to delay the action, citing the presence of international guests at the building.
Despite repeated promises to settle, NEC has yet to make payment. M-Tosh’s legal team has since filed a garnishment request, which remains pending.
Critics note that while NEC has consistently paid international vendors, including foreign firms that print Liberia’s ballot papers and deliver them via chartered flight, it continues to default on local contractors.
“It’s unprecedented and shameful,” one critic said. “She was suspended by the President for poor leadership after the 2023 elections, particularly for failing to ensure staff received hazard benefits and allowances. She was reinstated and told to settle arrears, especially after returning $6 million to the state. But that action was not about integrity — it was about greed.”
NEC’s ongoing disputes with local vendors have renewed concerns about its financial management and institutional credibility as the body responsible for safeguarding Liberia’s democratic process.
Alphonso Toweh
Has been in the profession for over twenty years. He has worked for many international media outlets including: West Africa Magazine, Africa Week Magazine, African Observer and did occasional reporting for CNN, BBC World Service, Sunday Times, NPR, Radio Deutchewells, Radio Netherlands. He is the current correspondent for Reuters
He holds first MA with honors in International Relations and a candidate for second master in International Peace studies and Conflict Resolution from the University of Liberia.