Willie N. Tokpah/0777039231 ([email protected])
Monrovia – Tension erupted Wednesday, July 29 among delegates and supporters of the three candidates in the Coalition for Democratic Change’s Montserrado County primary held in District 14.
The tension followed allegation by delegates that members of the primary committee were engaging in fraud during the poll.
Supporters of Samuel Worzie had complained of alleged attempt by those conducting the process to do “ballot stuffing” following the cancellation of Tuesday’s poll held in the district. The poll was re-conducted on Wednesday.
“We believe that those who conducted the process on Tuesday have something under their sleeves because they took Worzie votes and gave it to someone else, only to put Thomas Fallah on top,” said Nathaniel Sayou, a delegate and supporter of Mr. Worzi.
The tension lasted for about 30 minutes but was put to rest when Monrovia City Mayor Jefferson Koijee immediately arrived on the scene.
Koijee, in an apologetic tone, told partisans that the process was “their party thing” and only them (partisans) can make it better.
Unofficial results from the primary is still favoring Montserrado County District #5 Representative Thomas P. Fallah. He is ahead of the other two contenders seeking to represent the ruling party in the impending special senatorial election as the CDC look to reclaim its purported stronghold.
Unofficial results show that Representative Fallah is poised to contest in a tough race against incumbent Senator Abraham Darius Dillion and other would be candidates.
Fallah has won 14 districts already in Montserrado County after preliminary tallying was conducted in a primary that has lasted for about a week.
He is leading the process ahead of Mr. Worzie and Ishmael Sheriff, popularly known as “Tamba the Mayonnaise,” who has since promised to work with the winner of the convention.
On the other hand, Worzie, who has been vocal about the primary, told FrontPageAfrica that the process was not transparent, arguing that the results in the first primary conducted in District#1 was incorrect, adding that the primary is marred by fraud.
Worzie said his suspicion was based on the facts that the head of the Montserrado County primary committee Jefferson Koijee had announced in the hall that he slept in District #1 prior to the conduct of the elections.
He alleges the committee head, who is also Mayor of the City of Monrovia, may have tempered with the process overnight.
Worzie also alarmed that there was money being paid to delegates to vote for a candidate, who is favored by the committee.
The primary has brought together 1,500 delegates from each district, amounting to a total of 25,500 persons from across the 17 district electoral districts of the county. The process is expected to continue in the other three districts.