Liberians vote 'no' to proposed constitutional changes
Liberian voters have said 'no' to a referendum proposing the country's
presidential elections be postponed until November, officials said on
Wednesday, meaning polls will open on October 11 as originally planned
REUTERS - Liberian voters rejected plans to move the presidential
election to November, officials said on Wednesday, meaning the poll
will take place on its original date of October 11.
Liberian lawmakers had proposed changing the date, to make sure the
vote missed the rainy season in the mineral-rich nation still healing
from a long civil war.
The plan was put to a referendum but did not get enough support to go
through, the chairman of the national elections commission James
Fromayan told journalists after the results were announced on
Wednesday.
The rejection could be seen as a blow to incumbent president Ellen
Johnson-Sirleaf whose party had campaigned for the date change.
The opposition Congress for Democratic Change (CDC), supported by
former international soccer star George Weah, campaigned for a 'no'
vote in the referendum.
Fromayan said three other proposals were also rejected—to change the
voting system for the parliamentary election, to reduce residency
requirements from 10 to 5 years for presidential candidates and to
raise the retirement age for judges to 75.
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