Election Commission Faces Multiple Lawsuits For “Frauds”

The National Election Commission (NEC) under the Chairmanship of Cllr. Jerome Korkoyah is confronted with multiple lawsuits of six at the Supreme Court for alleged irregularities that characterized the December 20, 2014 Senatorial Election in some counties. According to information gathered, six defeated senatorial candidates filed separate lawsuits at the Supreme Court against NEC through its Chairman Cllr. Korkoyah and the elected senators. As a result of the action, the Supreme Court has issued six writs of prohibitions on NEC after the petitions filed by the aggrieved senatorial candidates in the just ended senatorial elections.

The National Legislature is expected to begin its 4th Working Session today, January 12, in line with Article 32 (a) of the Liberian Constitution. Article 32 (a) of the Liberian Constitution, among other things, calls for the assembling of the National Legislature in regular session once a year on the second working Monday in January.

The writ of prohibition is a legal order from the Superior Court to a lower court or tribunal, directing the judge and the parties to cease the litigation because the lower court does not have proper jurisdiction to hear or determine the matters before it. The court's issuance followed several prayers by the aggrieved candidates on grounds that their rights were violated by the National Elections Commission and the elections had many irregularities.

As a result of the writ of prohibition, the Supreme Court has placed a hold on the Certificates of six elected senators including Ambassador Conmany Wesseh of River Gee, Varney Sherman of Grand Cape Mount, Morris Saytumah of Bomi, Jim W. Tornonlah of Margibi, Albert Tugbeh Chie of Grand Kru and Gble-bo Brown of Maryland Counties, respectively.

The writs of Prohibition were filed to the Supreme Court recently by lawyers representing the interests of six defeated senatorial candidates including Madam Rosalind Segbe Tonne Sneh of the ruling Unity Party in Grand Kru, Dr Bhofal Chambers of the Congress of Democratic Change in Maryland, Johnathan Boyecharles Sogbie of the Alliance of Peace and Democracy in River Gee counties, Dr. Foday Kromah of the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) in Grand Cape Mount, Prof. Dio Sanii of Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) in Margibi and Lahai Gbabye Lansanah of the National Patriotic Party (NPP) in Bomi County.

Unity Party’s Rosalind Sneh was the first to file an official complaint to NEC through the commission office in Barclayville in Grand Kru County over what she described as election irregularities. In her complaint, candidate Sneh stated: “It is with disdain and dissatisfaction that we forward this complaint against the National Election Commission (NEC) Grand Kru Office on the Special Senatorial Election process and its attending results based on the fowling reasons to wait.”

In the complaint, Madam Sneh said ballot box was discovered in NEC officer home in Barclayville day after the senatorial election. The NEC officer involved was arrested and taken to the police headquarters in the city but was later released by the police.

Her complaint to NEC further stated: “We also filed a second complaint against NEC-Grand Kru Office for allowing another party and candidates, observers to vote in places they are not registered, having initially informed us not to assign observers to places where they are not registered. We believe this was intentional and a calculated attempt to prevent our candidate, Rosalind Segbe Tonne Sneh, from deploying her trusted observers at certain places, where people had earlier planned to rig the votes in favor of Albert T. Chie”.

The outcome of candidate Sneh’s complaint filed to NEC is yet to be made public, but her opponent, Albert T. Chie; an independent candidate has already been certificated by NEC. The NEC claimed that Chie obtained 5,619 votes representing 45.4%, while Madam Sneh acquired 2,781 votes representing 22.5%.Grand Kru Senatorial candidate Sneh.

Dr. Bhofal Chambers, who has filed a complaint against the election results which he narrowly lost to pronounced winner, J. Gbleh-bo Brown. The announced winner Brown accumulated 5,192 votes representing 32.7%, while representative Chambers obtained 5,116 votes representing 32.2%. With a slender margin of 76 votes or 5% Dr. Chambers is confident that his petition before the Supreme Court will yield results.

The winner of the River Gee election, Conmany Wesseh has already been certificated by the NEC but Sogbie is accordingly not deterred by his opponent certification and has gone ahead to file an official complaint. Wesseh garnered 2,672 votes representing 26.1% with Sogbie coming second after obtaining 1,719 votes representing 16.8%.

The hearing into the three petitioners filed by Candidates Sneh, Chambers, Sogbie requested the high court to hold the NEC in contempt in line with Section 6.1 of the National Elections law on grounds that they filed an appeal and complaint before the NEC; but the commission denied them a due process but rather went on the certification of the winners of the just ended election.

“NEC ignores the fundamental rights, ignore the appeal process, there is no part in the constitution nor the statue that give the NEC to violate the rights of citizens, they acted like a jury, judge and final arbiter of justice,” stated Cllr. Stubblefield representing Dr. Chambers. For Cllr. Syrenius Cephus who represented Sogbie told the court that NEC has a multiplicity of irregularities, but they ignore and injured the petitioners.

“NEC has not denied that if there is a or no complaint before them, but they feel pleasant by ignoring our rights of due process and injuring us” he said. Cllr. Laveli Supuwood who represented Sneh prayed the high court to issue the writ of prohibition on the election commission on grounds that they have a problem on the conduct of the elections.

But in counter argument, Cllr. Joseph Blidi of the National Election commission said whether or not the NEC certificated a candidate that does not stop the appeal process by the commission. “We are still carrying on investigation your honor, NEC give out certificate cannot stop the commission from carrying on its investigation into the complaints, and we are in compliance of article 83.C of the Liberian constitution’ He said.

The constitution review head Cllr. Gloria Musu Scoot represented senator elect of Maryland County Gble-bo Brown, she told the court that NEC is not bin error by awarding the certificates to the winners but the commission was in line with the constitution.

“The NEC did not err, this is a constitution and not a statute as proffered by my colleagues, your honor lets the contesting parties exhaust the remedy, they have the opportunity for protest as stated in the constitution, if you don’t allow the NEC do their job more complaints will be filed to this honorable court. The three petitions make it six petitions to the high court, with the three writs issued; the court is expected to issue three more writ of prohibition.

The first three writs include the petition filed against Cllr. Varney Sherman, Morris Saytumah and Jim W. Tornonlah and the rest will be the petition filed against Albert Chie, Commany Wesseh, Gble-bo Brown.

Another complaint to the NEC, River Gee candidate Sogbie of the APD said NEC authorities in River Gee County in person of Asst. Magistrate Moses Nyanatoh and senior magistrate Belden Flomo rejected the APD’s original list of poll watchers on grounds that they had received instructions from NEC central office that individuals who are registered to vote in assigned polling stations can serve as poll watchers at the assigned centers. The complaint further averred that the APD resisted the rejection, but the magistrates stood their ground and refused to give APD observers tags.

“By this move, APD was denied representation in most parts of the county, especially in Potupo belt where the APD had concentrated vigilance, it is the belt that the Unity Party is reported to have won over 1,500 votes with over 95% of the records of count sheets not stamped or validated by NEC,” stated the complainant.

The River Gee complainant added that it is strange to note that results from Putupo precincts which are within close proximity to the NEC office in fish town, were not submitted until the day after all others results from across the country had been tabulated, showing that APD was in a comfortable lead and most of the unstamped records of counts from the belt precincts indicated that UP won.

In the Dr. Bhofal Chambers petition against Senator Gbleh-bo Brown requested the high court to issue the prerogative or alternative writ of prohibition against the 1st respondent which is National Election commission, to undo and revoke the 1st respondent certification of the 2nd respondent as the duly elected senator of Maryland County which occurred on Saturday, January 2015 while there was pending and unresolved appeal currently before the NEC for its determination.

The petition further revealed that the high court should hold the board of commissioner of NEC for contempt, for certifying the 2nd respondent after receiving constructive notice from the chamber justice of the Supreme Court to halt the certification of affected contestants with pending and undetermined matters before the NEC.