MONROVIA, LIBERIA-The National Elections Commission (NEC) Legal Section is expected Friday, October 23, 2020, to conduct the first in a series of two-day Legal Awareness Forum in Gbarnga, Bong County.

According to a release issued Thursday, October 22, 2020, the forum will bring together one-hundred-fifty stakeholders, including County Attorneys, judges, local and traditional leaders from the fifteen counties.

Other stakeholders will include women and youth groups, academic institutions, faith based organizations and the disable community.

The forum is to broaden legal protectioners and electorates’ understanding on the conduct of the Special Senatorial Election, National Referendum and the By-elections, jointly slated for December 8, 2020.

It is also intended to enhance citizen’s participation in the democratic process and to provide practical information on the legal electoral process to reduce the number of complaints.

In a related development, the National Elections Commission (NEC) Communications Section is currently conducting the second in a series of two-day 2020 Election Coverage Training in Nimba County.

The training, according to a release issued Thursday, October 22, 2020, is focused on Understanding Campaign Procedures, Offenses, and Expresses as well as Election Day News Reporting.

The nearly seventy-five election reporting journalists attending the training were drawn from Bong, Lofa, Grand Gedeh, Margibi, Maryland and Nimba Counties.

They are also expected to participate in the validation of the Code of Conduct for media practitioners, mainly elections reporting journalists.

The training is being sponsored by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in collaboration with the Press Union of Liberia (PUL).