Monrovia – It’s more than three months since the end of the first round of voting in the 2017 elections, and vote rich Nimba County is experiencing series of election dispute cases.
Report by Kennedy L. Yangian [email protected]
Three of the nine electoral districts in the county are embroiled in the dispute, which means these constituencies were without sitting lawmakers when the 54th Legislature began active work on January 15.
Two of the three cases are before the Supreme Court for determination. The disputed districts are electoral district seven and eight, while the latest case is from district four.
In District # 7, defeated representative candidate Evans Koah, a former representative of former Nimba District #5 turns District #7 in the 52nd Legislature, is challenging the District #7 election result that declared UP candidate Roger Domah as winner.
Representative Candidate Koah complained of malpractices in the District #7 election result, but his complaint was dismissed by NEC hearing officer in the county and the Board of Commissioners is challenging the result for the third time at the level of the Supreme Court.
The ruling from the Supreme Court will now determine who represents the district in the 54th Legislature for the next six years.
Also, in District #8, representative candidate Saye Mianeh of the Movement for Democracy and Reconstruction (MDR), who claimed to have won the election with 19 votes, is challenging a recount in the district after incumbent lawmaker Larry Younquoi was declared winner.
NEC did the recount in the district after incumbent lawmaker Younquoi had complained to the election body about fraud in the result that gave edge to Mianeh with 19 votes.
He claimed that in a situation of such the law requires that when votes against contending candidates in a representative election is less than 50, an automatic recount is required.
However, Mianeh’s legal counsel, Cllr. Cooper Kruah argued that the recount was illegal and that the 2011 Referendum sets re-count aside in favor of simple majority.
NEC legal counsel Alexander Zoe argued that re-count was a requirement set up to settle disputes among candidates.
“Re-count was a policy of NEC in these kind of situation, it is a best international practice set up by NEC and endorsed by our partners,” said Zoe during an argument in the case before the Supreme Court.
He presented his argument after Saye Mianeh had taken appeal against the ruling of the Board Commissioners in favor of the incumbent lawmaker Larry Younquoi.
The Supreme Court, following the arguments of the pros and cons in the matter, chose to reserve ruling for an unannounced date.
Meanwhile, in Nimba County District #4, incumbent lawmaker Garrison Yealue is also challenging the result of the election that has favored candidate Grupee Kargon.
Yealue has alleged that initial result put him ahead but the election magistrate in the county changed the result in favor of Kargon.
But Magistrate Princeton Monmia, at a NEC hearing, denied the allegation and said NEC boss, Jerome Korkoyah, and changed the result in favor of Kargon.
Yealue, who has lost his case with both the NEC hearing officer and the Board of Commissioners, has taken an appeal to the Supreme Court.
However, the Supreme Court has called on all parties in the case to file in their brief (legal memorandum) within 48 hours to pave the way for hearing.