By: Kaipee Luther Newray
The Hearings Officer at the National Elections Commission (NEC) has ruled against claims by the opposition Liberty Party (LP) of Charles Brumskine and Vice President Joseph Boakai’s ruling Unity Party (UP) that the October 10, 2017 election was marred by fraud, but both parties have taken appeal to NEC’s Board of Commissioners.
The complainant Cllr. Charles Walker Brumskine and Harrison Kanwea and all Representative candidates of the opposition Liberty Party on October 3, 2017 filed with the Commission a post electoral complaint referencing article 83 of the 1986 constitution of the Republic of Liberia.
Because of this unresolved case at NEC, the Supreme Court recently put a halt to the scheduled November 7 runoff presidential election that should have taken place between the two frontrunners in the first round of voting—CDC’s George Weah and incumbent Vice President Boakai of the UP.
Announcing the ruling at the NEC headquarters in Monrovia Monday evening, NEC’s Hearings Officer Muana Ville said the challenges the national electoral body experienced conducting the October polls did not warrant an over-turning of the results leading to a rerun of the elections.
“Both the complainant and the intervening parties failed to provide sufficient evidence to substantiate their claims,” Velle said in his ruling.
“The complainants named several polling places where fraud allegedly occurred such as their names being handwritten on addendum lists. The Hearing Officer is not convinced that these challenges and difficulties experienced amounts to fraud,” NEC’s Hearing Officer said.
According to him, the complainants have not been able to prove that the incidents cited by them would have been able to alter the results of the October 10 polls
The NEC’ Hearing Officer denied Liberty party and Unity Party claims that the Commission violated constitutional and elections law.
‘’The complainant alleges that irregularities, the changing of polling places of presiding officers work sheet and absent of poll controllers.
The complainant named several polling places where irregularities occurred and complaint several acts during the October 10 2017 elections and prayed that the commission nullified results of the elections and order a rerun,’’ NEC’s Hearing Officer noted.
Ville said it was during the hearing that the complainant witnesses Wilmot Paye (Unity Party’s Chairman) and Joshua Jokai, a former head of Civic Education at NEC had earlier testified that their names or particulars were not found on the final roll but were allowed to vote.
But he said it was later established that the names and pictures of Paye and Jokiah and data were on the Final Voter Roll (FRR).
‘’The defendants demonstrated FRR to the centers where they registered but indeed were allowed to vote though their particulars were established.
Liberty Party and Unity Party have meanwhile taken an Appeal to the Board of Commissioners at NEC.
Liberty Party is calling for rerun of the October 10 presidential and representative polls, while Unity Party is opting for rerun or runoff, in the case were NEC cleaned up irregularities and frauds observed during the just head elections. The ruling party is specifically calling for the republication of the Final Registration Roll.
If the NEC Board of Commissioners upholds the ruling of the Hearing Officer, the complainants reserve the right to take an appeal to the Supreme Court of Liberia.
Last Friday, the Supreme Court denied the ruling Unity Party (UP) Bill of Information to hold NEC in contempt for failing to rule on an appeal before them.
In its ruling, the highest court in the country said Article 83C of the Liberian constitution sets a time frame of 30 days in which the electoral body is to look into and make determination of electoral matters before it.
The Supreme Court, which was read by one of the five Justices on the bench, Jamesetta Howard Wolokolie, said the court cannot set specific date as requested by the Up and that if the high court did, it would be in violation of the Liberian constitution, adding that “Such action the Court has consistently maintained is ultra virus.”
Speaking to Journalists after the Supreme Court ruling, the lead lawyer of NEC Frank Moussa Dean said the Commission welcomed the Supreme Court’s ruling and promised that NEC was going to speed up the various complaints before it about alleged irregularities and fraud in the October 10, 2017 elections.