By Paul Ejime
Madam Davidetta Browne-Lansanah, Chairperson of Liberia’s National Elections Commission (NEC), has announced her resignation effective 15th March 2026, about a year before the expiry of her tenure in April 2027.
A veteran broadcast journalist with public administration experience, including a stint in the UN system before joining NEC 11 years ago as a commissioner, Browne-Lansanah delivered Liberia’s widely acclaimed general elections in October 2023.
She served as Co-Chair and Acting Chair before assuming the substantive position as NEC’s fifth Chairperson in 2020, pledging to “strengthen the Commission’s core values of independence, integrity, professionalism and consistency.”
Her leadership style resonates strongly across the ECOWAS region, which is grappling with insecurity, resurgence of military incursions in politics, manipulated elections, and poor governance.
Three of the four member states of the 15-nation organisation, ruled by the military, have left to form the Alliance of Shael States, AES, with Liberia, Senegal and Ghana holding up some hope for the survival of electoral democracy in the politically restive region.
Liberia’s NEC is no stranger to controversies. In 2011, James Fromayan, one of Madam Browne-Lansanah’s predecessors, was forced to step down after being accused of bias by the then-opposition leader George Weah. The same George Weah, as President, appointed Madam Browne-Lansanah as NEC Chair in April 2020 and lost his re-election bid in the 2023 elections conducted by her.
“I have done my best,” Madam Browne-Lansanah told this writer in a telephone chat on Saturday, 14th March. “I want to focus on my family as a single mother,” she added.
Since assuming leadership of the NEC, Madam Browne-Lansanah has faced a running battle with some of her commissioner colleagues, suspected of acting on behalf of politically exposed persons to undermine her position.
Last year, she was accused of “unilaterally announcing the closure of the NEC office for one month and dismissing 25 employees (for insubordination) without the knowledge or approval of the NEC Board of Commissioners, as required by law.”
This led to protests by some employees at the NEC headquarters in Monrovia and resulted in her suspension in January 2025 by the government of President Joseph Boakai. The government reinstated her one month later.
In lifting her suspension, the president expressed the hope that the “uncertainty surrounding the NEC has been addressed, clearing the way for the smooth conduct of (then) upcoming Nimba County by-election to fill the vacancy left as a result of the passing of Senator Prince Yormie Johnson.”
However, NEC’s internal wrangling and alleged external interference continued, culminating in Madam Browne-Lansanah’s sudden resignation, which she first announced on Thursday during a tour of the ongoing renovation of the NEC’s headquarters in Monrovia.
She told the media and development partners: “I have conveyed this (decision) to the President’s Office, and I await to hear from him. It is time to move on and give any other person the opportunity to run the Elections Commission.”
“I am happy because I have done my best,” she added.
Informed sources link her sudden resignation to “mounting pressure” following an undisclosed audit report that allegedly raised concerns about administrative and financial practices at NEC.
A major source of disagreement during her tenure was the procurement of biometric voter registration equipment before the 2023 elections.
Independent observers believe Madam Browne-Lansanah “is targeted for being professional and refusing to bend rules.”
The NEC was part of the 2003 Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended Liberia’s 14-year civil war. It replaced the 1986 Elections Commission as “an autonomous government institution, independent of any branch of government with powers to run elections in Liberia.”
But as with many other electoral umpires in Africa, political pressure and interference by sitting governments often undermine the electoral process and the independence of the so-called independent/autonomous electoral Commissions, thereby contributing to flawed elections.
Liberia’s next general elections are in October 2029. Madam Browne-Lansanah has done her part with a strong track record; it remains to be seen what her successor will bring.
Ejime is a Global Affairs Analyst and Consultant on Strategic Governance Communication
