Monrovia – The Monrovia City Court has commenced the prosecution of a staff member of the National Election Commission (NEC) identified as Victor L. Johnson. He was arrested, investigated, and charged with the Acts of Election Malfeasance after being caught altering votes in favor of Montserrado County District #8 Representative Acarous M. Gray.
By: Victoria G. Wesseh
Defendant Victor L. Johnson was handed over to the court on Thursday, October 19, 2023, to answer to his crimes. However, he was prevented from going to jail after his lawyer filed a criminal appearance bond to secure his release.
According to court documents, on Monday, October 16, 2023, defendant Victor L. Johnson was arrested and formally charged with the crime of “ACTS CONSTITUTING MALFEASANCE,” which is in violation of Chapter 10, Sections 10.1, A & C of the New Elections Law of Liberia. This action was taken based on a complaint filed against him by Vopea S. Gongloe, Election Magistrate of Lower Montserrado County.
According to Complainant Vopea S. Gongloe, Election Magistrate of Lower Montserrado County of the National Elections Commission (NEC), after the voting process on October 11, 2023, the National Tally Center at Samuel Kanyon Doe (SKD) Sports Complex in Paynesville City received several ballot boxes, including those for the Presidential and Senatorial tallies.
Complainant Gongloe alleged that after the ballot boxes were received, the NEC received complaints from parties’ agents. These complaints stated that some of the tally sheets contained more or fewer numbers for several Representative and Senatorial candidates. Based on these complaints, he, Magistrate Vopea S. Gongloe, was instructed to conduct a recount of the votes in the ballot boxes where complaints were filed.
Complainant Vopea S. Gongloe concluded that recounts were conducted and, during the process, it was discovered that some of the ballot boxes had fewer physical ballot papers than what was indicated on the tally sheet for Richard N. Nixon Voting Precinct Capitol Bye-Pass, Polling Place Number 1. This resulted in an incorrect count of Seventy-Five (75) votes in favor of candidate Acarous M. Gray being reported as One Hundred and Seventy-Five (175), putting him ahead of other candidates.
The court documents revealed that after the discovery of the discrepancies, the defendant was handed over to the Liberia National Police for investigation.
Defendant Johnson admitted to the allegations made against him in the presence of his lawyer, Atty. Ernest J. Dunbar. He further narrated during the investigation that he served as the Voters Identification Officer (VIO) at AC Moseh Atina School System Voting Precinct, Polling Place Number 2, on October 10, 2023, in Logan Town, Bushrod Island.
Defendant Victor L. Johnson averred that after the voting ended, he and the Presiding Officer (PO) counted and sorted all of the votes. Afterward, while Tracy Passawe was calling out the numbers of the candidates one by one, he was recording them in the journal. He was later instructed to write all of the numbers obtained by the candidates on tally sheets provided by the National Elections Commission (NEC). Once he had completed writing the vote counts on the tally sheets, the parties’ agents and observers signed them. After the presiding officer (PO) signed the sheets, they were placed in the ballot boxes for transfer to the National Elections Commission warehouse.
Defendant Victor L. Johnson concluded that days after the ballot boxes were transferred to the National Tally Center at Samuel Kanyon Doe (SKD) Sports Complex in Paynesville City, he and the Presiding Officer (PO) were asked to report at the tally center, which they did. Upon their arrival, they were informed that there were problems with the tally sheets. The National Elections Commission (NEC) decided to conduct a recount. During this recount, it was discovered that the physical ballot papers were fewer than what was recorded on the tally sheet. As a result, he was turned over to the Liberia National Police for investigation.
The investigative team was able to authenticate and establish that the crime was actually committed by the defendant on October 10, during the National Elections Commission (NEC) October Polls. The defendant, with criminal intent, increased the vote counts in favor of candidates on the tally sheets while keeping the actual votes obtained in the ballot box. He then presented the manipulated ballot boxes to the National Elections Commission (NEC) warehouse through the Electoral Supervisor (ES).
The investigative team also found that the defendant went to his house, which raised suspicions of criminal activity. Further investigation revealed that the votes had been increased, as detected during the recount of the physical ballot papers that were placed in the ballot box by the National Elections Commission (NEC) Election Magistrate of Lower Montserrado County in the presence of parties’ agents and observers.
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