Published: October 20, 2025
MONROVIA – More than a dozen civil society organizations (CSOs) and media houses over the weekend, formally signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to launch the Legislative Monitoring Coalition of Liberia (LEMCOL).
LEMCOL, a new body dedicated to tracking the performance of the Liberian Legislature and promoting transparency, participation and inclusion in governance is promising a robust watchdog role in ensuring the country adequately benefits from its resources.
The coalition brings together 13 CSOs and media institutions who agreed to work under a shared framework to monitor the statutory mandate of the Legislature, report publicly on findings, and foster meaningful citizen engagement in legislative affairs.
The initiative is co-funded by the European Union, Irish Aid and the Embassy of Sweden through the Liberia Electoral Support Project Plus (LESP+), which is managed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and jointly implemented by Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy (NIMD) and UN Women.
NIMD’s Country Director, Oscar Bloh, emphasized that the LESP+ activity aligns with NIMD’s third programme priority — legislative oversight and political accountability, noting further and that practical support will be offered to the coalition to build synergies around the three key indicators: transparency, participation and inclusion.
Mr. Bloh said: “We are optimistic that the coalition will build a constructive working relationship with the Legislature while carrying out its legislative monitoring and engagements to promote transparency on the performance of the Legislature regarding their statutory mandate.”
Programme Assistant Barwudu Williams of NIMD told the signing ceremony that technical support will be provided to deepen the coalition’s capacity to engage constructively with the Legislature, analyse and present legislative information, engage citizens, and advocate reforms based on monitoring findings.
For Joseph Cheayan, the coalition’s focal person, LEMCOL will focus on establishing open access to legislative information, advocating for reform where monitoring reveals weaknesses, building capacity for systematic oversight, encouraging public engagement, and forging partnerships for collective impact.
He added that membership is open to organizations dedicated to democratic governance and legislative advocacy, and that the coalition will operate under a voluntary association model under Liberian law. A National Steering Committee (NSC) has been established to provide strategic leadership, with decisions taken by consensus or by simple majority when needed.
Members of the coalition commit themselves to democratic governance, transparency, accountability, integrity, inclusivity, collaboration, independence, mutual respect, gender sensitivity, evidence-based advocacy, and sustainability. These principles will guide LEMCOL’s operations and relationships with both the Legislature and the public. The MOU sets out roles and responsibilities for the coalition members, including regular monitoring of the Legislature’s work, production of periodic reports, media engagement to inform the public, and dialogue with legislative actors to present findings and advocate for improvements.
According to the Focus Person, the launch of LEMCOL signals an important step for Liberia’s democratic accountability architecture. By connecting CSOs and media institutions in a coordinated monitoring effort, the initiative aims to strengthen the checks and balances on the Legislature, improve access to information about law-making and oversight, and increase citizen participation in the performance of their elected representatives.
Challenges such as ensuring genuine cooperation and access to information from the Legislature, securing sufficient resources for sustained monitoring, and maintaining the independence and integrity of the coalition as it engages in potentially sensitive oversight work will have to be addressed.
Still, participants at the signing ceremony expressed confidence that the new structure will deliver on its promise to enhance transparency, public engagement and inclusion in legislative affairs. LEMCOL is expected to begin its monitoring work in the coming weeks, producing reports and engaging both the public and the Legislature with the aim of improving performance, promoting openness, and strengthening accountability in Liberia’s legislative sector.
Media institutions participating in the signing of the MoU were Front Page Africa, Daily Observer, OK FM, State radio-ELBC and the Legislative Reporters organization-LEGISPOOL while CENTAL, WONGOSOL, Infoquest and IDAD also made up the list of civil society organizations.
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