PHOTO: Senator-elect Botoe Kanneh
By Our Staff Writer
The National Elections Commission (NEC) on Tuesday finally certificated Boto Kanneh and Wellington Geevon-Smith as winners of the 2020 senatorial elections for Gbarpolu and Rivercess Counties, respectively.
She won the Senate seat as an independent candidate in the December 8, 2020 Special Senatorial election.
This comes after the Supreme Court’s recent ruling dismissing a challenge to her victory by the ruling CDC candidate, mandating NEC to go ahead with Madam Kanneh’s certification. This therefore, makes her the second woman to join the Liberian Senate in the 54th Legislature.
The 30-member Liberian Senate has been with only one female Senator for a number of years now in the person of Grand Bassa County Senator, Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence from the opposition Liberty Party.
NEC Chairperson Davidetta Brown Lassana on March 30, 2021 urged the newly elected senators to use their respective offices to support peaceful elections.
“Peaceful elections is everybody’s business”, she told the two senators and their supporters.
Speaking following his certification, Geevon-Smith assured the NEC that he will use his time within the senate to push for improved conditions at the electoral body.
Senator-elect Geevon-Smith
He also promised to proffer bills in this direction saying that in this age of technology, it is regrettable that the Liberia was is still doing manual registrations and recordings.
For her part, Kanneh thanked women groups that supported her throughout the electoral process.
The elections of the two senators were fiercely contested by their respective rivals.
In both cases, the matters were only settled at the level of the Supreme Court and through ballot recounts.