PHOTO: NEC Chair Davidetta Browne Lansannah Davidetta Browne Lansanah reading the BOC ruling
By Autustine Octavius, augustineoctavius@gmail.com
The Board of Commissioners of the National Elections Commission (NEC) has confirmed and reaffirmed the board’s declaration of Frank SaahFoko of the Coalition for Democratic Change as the winner of the 8 December 2021 electoral District #9 Montserrado County Representative By-election.
The unanimous ruling of the board of the Liberian electoral body was read Tuesday, 9 February 2021 by Chairperson Davidetta Browne Lansanah.
However, lawyers representing the complainant Fubbi Henries of the Collaborating Political Parties, CPP, led by Counselors Merfee Kanneh and Horicho Gould have accepted the ruling but announce an appeal to the Supreme Court of Liberia.
In the ruling of the NEC Board, read by Davidetta Browne Lansanah, said the complaint of appellant Fubi Henries was based on inadmissible hearsay, and that the complaint by the CPP through it Secretary General Aloysius Toe, was not signed by him Toe but an unknown person.
The head of the administrative hearing said the board considers several factors whether the appellant establish that irregularity or fraud occurred during the election and whether same was of a magnitude to change the outcome of the December 8, 2020 election.
Chairperson Browne Lansanah said the complainant Fubbie Henries failed to establish that irregularity and fraud occurred during the representative by-election on December 8 and that the such could change outcome of the election.
The board cited several opinions from the Supreme Court including the case Sando Johnson versus NEC decided December 2005, Brumskine et al versus NEC decided 21 December 2017, and Fayad versus Dennie, 39 LLR 587, decided 1999.
During the hearing of the case, the complainant brought forward five witnesses while the four witnesses testified for the defendant.
It is now when the Supreme Court will entertain hearing of the case involving the CPP candidate and Fubbie Henries on one hand and the NEC and the CDC candidate Frank Foko on the other.