PHOTO: NEC Commissioner, Cllr. Ernestine Morgan Awar Reading BOC’s Ruling
By Augustine Octavius, augustineoctavius@gmail.com
The National Elections Commission (NEC) is making preparations to certificate Simeon Taylor, the winner of the December 2020 Special Senatorial elections in Liberia’s western Grand Cape Mount County.
The preparations come after NEC’s Board of Commissioners on Monday reaffirmed and confirmed the ruling of its Hearing Officer, declaring Mr. Taylor, the opposition CCP candidate as Senator Elect.
Taylor defeated the incumbent Senator Victor Watson of the ruling CDC party with a large margin.
The board, on 19 July 2021, through its Chairperson, Madam Davidetta Browne Lansanah, following the ruling, instructed the Certification Committee of NEC-Liberia, with immediate effect, to go ahead with all necessary modalities leading to the certification of Simeon Taylor as Senator Elect of Grand Cape Mount County.
But the legal team of the Complainant, Victor Watson, of the Coalition for Democratic Change, CDC, led by Counselor Sheik Salibu Sesay has taken exception to the ruling and announced an appeal to the Supreme Court of Liberia.
The move by Mr. Watson is seen as open defiance to his CDC Standard Bearer,, President George Manneh Weah who, during his recent visit to Grand Cape Mount County, called on the outgoing Senator to accept the election results and move ahead with life.
L-R Simeon Taylor and Victor Watson
In the Board’s ruling, read by Commissioner Counselor. Ernestine Morgan Awar, the Administrative Court said that the complainant Victor Watson filed to proof by the preponderance of evidence the allegations of double registration and voting, pre-marked ballots, stopping of his party agents by mobs of Simeon Taylor from entering voting centers and the forging of signatures of his party agents on the record of the count.
The Board said the Hearing Officer, Attorney Fumba Swaray did not err to dismiss and deny the action of appeal of fraud and irregularity filed by Victor Watson, who witnesses failed to identify any record of the count that signatures of their party agents were forged or did any witness testify to the issue of pre-marked ballots as alleged during the hearing.
On the allegations that Simeon Taylor double register and voted in Lofa Bridge and Tawh Polling places, and that relatives of Mr. Taylor listed in the Final Registration Roll were the same that were listed in the FRR in Tawh, Cllr. Morgan Awar, said the board agreed with the Hearing Officer that the plaintiff, Victor Watson failed to produce sufficient evidence by the preponderance of evidence to overturn the result in the Cape Special Senatorial Election.
The case grew out of the action of an appeal, electoral fraud and irregularity filed by Victor Watson, Candidate of the CDC, as complainant versus the National Elections Commission, first respondent and Simeon Taylor of the CPP as second respondent.
All seven members of the board of commissioners heard the Grand Cape Mount County appeal case, but only the Co-Chairperson of NEC, Cllr. P. Teplah Reeves did not sign the ruling.