20111031
Press TV
The chief of Liberia's National Election Commission (NEC) has resigned ahead of the country's November 8 presidential election after the main opposition leader accused him of being biased.

“I chose to step down for the sake of Liberia and so that [challenger Winston Tubman's] CDC [the Congress for Democratic Change party] would not have an excuse not to participate in the run-off,” Reuters quoted James Fromayan as saying on Sunday.

Tubman had earlier threatened to withdraw if the election commission's leadership remained in place.

Incumbent President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf received 43.9 percent of the vote in the first round of the presidential election on October 11, while Tubman finished second at 32.7 percent.

After the election, CDC campaign manager George Solo said some ballot papers were pre-marked and made other complaints.

“We presented photos of ballot boxes which had been tampered with by NEC employees,” Solo stated.

“We also have the issue of tally sheets scratched out and their numbers changed. Old people wanted to vote for certain people but NEC workers were not open to assisting them,” Solo added.

Froymayan's No. 2, Elizabeth Nelson, is now expected to take over as the head of the election commission.

Liberia is holding its second presidential election since 2003, when the country's second civil war ended.

Sirleaf received the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize, jointly with Leymah Gbowee of Liberia and Tawakel Karman of Yemen.