Monrovia — Defeated Nimba County Senatorial candidate Edith Gongloe Weh has called on her supporters to respect the outcome of the Supreme Court of Liberia’s latest ruling into her complaint filed against the conduct of the December 8, 2020 senatorial election in the county.
Madam Gongloe-Weh of the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) filed a complaint of irregularities and fraud against the conduct of the election shortly after the candidate of the Movement for Democratic Reconstruction (MDR), Jeremiah Koung, was declared the winner of the senatorial election in the county by the National Elections Commission (NEC).
The decision taken by the Board of Commissioners of the NEC to uphold a ruling from its Hearing Officer following the filing of the complaints, prompted Madam Gongloe-Weh to take an appeal to the Supreme Court.
But in its latest ruling rendered over the weekend, the Supreme Court denied Madam Gongloe-Weh petition for a re-run and recount of the county’s Special Senatorial Elections.
The Supreme Court is the final arbiter of justice in Liberia.
According to the Court, the petition of candidate Gongloe Weh lacks legal basis and is based on mere allegations. The Full Bench, therefore, asked the National Elections Commission to resume jurisdiction over the matter.
This means that the elections commission will now proceed to certificate Rep. Jeremiah Koung who was backed by the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) in the election.
In a live podcast on her official social media page over the week end, Madam Weh claimed that though the Supreme Court has ruled and acknowledged most of the complaints filed against the process ranging from “voting in cartoons to missing of Ts which are essential”, the High Court, in its wisdom believes that those complaints were not sufficient to overturn the outcome of the election.
“We started a process and journey from the election that ended on the 8th of December. We filed a protest beginning with the National Elections Commission thru the Supreme Court of the Republic of Liberia. The Supreme Court has ruled in this case. I want to say here through this medium that the court has spoken”.
“I am calling on all my supporters-we say to all of you that we respect the decision of the court regardless of whether it went the way we expected it or not. When the High Court of the land speaks, we should obey”.
Madam Gongloe-Weh encouraged her supporters to bear in mind that they have all won despite the latest ruling from the court.
She emphasized that the “militarization” of processes that do not go in favor of a particular group of people or individual is not the best way forward to finding remedies to grievances or disenchantments.
“We want to say that we’ve all won. We have to demonstrate to young Liberians that militarization of our processes that do not go our way is not the best way. It is always good to seek the way of the law”.
She, however, commended her supporters, particularly citizens of Nimba County, lawyers and others for their support and making the entire process challenging, adding that, “your work didn’t go in vain”.
Madam Gongloe-Weh vowed to continue to remain engage with citizens of the county, noting that, “take heart; the court has spoken, and we respect the rule of law and the decision of the court”.
She lauded women of the “Lappa Revolution” for standing by her and soliciting funds to support her legal case against the conduct of the Nimba County senatorial election.
She, however, underscored the need for citizens to continue to work together for the betterment of Nimba County and Liberia at large.
“What we started months ago has ended; what we started more than two years ago has ended. Let’s engage in respect; Hon. Jeremiah Koung is our new Senator of Nimba and I want us to work along with him for the good of our county and Liberia”.
Madam Gongloe-Weh pointed out that though her legal case filed against the electoral process has ended, she will not erode or end her political or personal relationship with any political party or citizen.