The National Elections Commission (NEC) has expressed alarm that with less than 14 days to the expiration of the nomination of candidates, it has so far received no list from any would be presidential candidates.

The nomination period, according to the NEC's calendar of events, commenced on July 20, 2011 and ends on August 15, 2011.

And up to present, none of the presidential candidates have picked up the nomination packages.

“Of course, this worries the Commission, because it increases the pressure on NEC to overwork. Also, the number of candidates that have so far picked up the packages are very small and insignificant taking into account the number of persons contesting for various elective posts,” Chairman Fromayan lamented.

If the slow pace of nomination from the 29 registered political parties continues, the Commission will bear the weight of the pressure at the expiration of the August 15, 2011 deadline for the process, the Chairman has said.

In an exclusive interview with the Daily Observer yesterday, the NEC Chair disclosed among other things that up to present, and with less than two weeks to the expiration for nomination, the entire process had remained slow.

“What I observe will happen at the end of the deadline on August 15 is a big rush on the Commission to work under pressure so that everyone from the 29 political parties would be catered to. This is what happens sometimes,” Chairman Fromanyan said.

Also, NEC head of political liaison, Joseph A. Yarsiah told our reporter at the nomination center at the Samuel K. Doe Sports Complex in Paynesville, outside Monrovia that up to yesterday Tuesday, August 2, 2011, (about 2:45 pm), of the 2, 500 candidate nomination packages arranged for the conduct of the 2011 presidential and legislative elections, only 16 had been processed.

And of the 16 processed or picked up by the aspirants, two of them are from a political party (not named), while the 14 were picked up by “Independent Candidates”.

The process which began on July 20, 2011, according to him, starts at 9 am and closes by 5pm from Monday to Saturday where each of the aspirants is expected to up the nomination package.

Each of the nomination package, Mr. Yarsiah said contains letter of intent, questionnaire that has to do with domicile or the residency form, individual candidate financial disclosure form, individual political party endorsement form and declaration of abide by political parties (code of conduct).

Other documents contain therein are, affiliated candidates nomination application checklist, independent candidates’ nomination checklist, independent candidates’ information on the established office, factsheet-1 on how to be a candidate and factsheet-2 on who can be a candidate.

Though Mr. Yarsiah says he was not speaking on behalf of any political party, he however expressed the view that the slow pace to the conduct of the process is apparently due to the ongoing primaries by the various political parties.

“Maybe the slow response to pick up the nomination package by political players is the result of ongoing primaries at the various levels,” Mr. Yarsiah observed.