MONROVIA — The National Elections Commission (NEC) has reported that two boxes containing representative’s ballot papers in Nimba County were stolen from the magistrate’s offices in the county. The stolen boxes contained votes cast for representatives at a precinct in Beo Lonto Public School with code 33258 in district #4.
Liberian National Police are actively investigating the suspects involved in this incident.
According to the National Elections Commission, the precinct in question consists of two polling places. Fortunately, the NEC chairperson has confirmed that the remaining four boxes, which contain Presidential and senatorial ballot papers for the same polling places, remain intact.
NEC Chairperson stated, “The election magistrate of upper Nimba County has reported that the representative’s ballot boxes at two polling places were stolen by unknown individuals. These boxes were sealed and contained representative votes cast on October 10, 2023.”
Madam Davidetta Browne-Lansannah, during her daily election update press conference held on Friday, informed journalists that polling was successfully conducted in all 81 precincts in Sinoe County, concluding the election process. She also cited that the slow pace in the tallying process was partly due to some party representatives holding up the process for hours, as they refused to follow the established procedures.
She expressed her concern, stating, “The commission continues to face challenges with some representatives of political parties and candidates who intermittently disrupt the process whenever they disagree on any issue. This disrupts the process, causing unnecessary tension at the Montserrado County tally center. Yesterday and today, we lost more than three hours due to these disruptions, and it took the intervention of a backup police force to restore order.”
In response to these disruptions, the NEC has adjusted the start time for the tallying process to 8:00 AM. All party and candidate representatives are requested to be present, on time, and seated before 8:00 AM to ensure a smooth and efficient process.