MONROVIA – The National Elections Commission (NEC) has commenced hearings into an election dispute complaint filed by Mr. Moses Kollie, a candidate on the ticket of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) in Lofa County.
By Henry Karmo [email protected]
Mr. Kollie, representing the ruling CDC, is seeking a recount of the votes in ten polling places out of the 424 polling places in Lofa County. He claims that valid ballots marked for him were wrongfully declared invalid, based on complaints from CDC poll watchers at these locations.
Kollie’s contention is that in certain instances, individuals who marked their ballots with his picture or the party logo had their votes declared invalid. He argues that the law regarding invalid ballots should consider the voter’s intent, and he points out that remarkably similar ballots cast for his opponents were deemed valid.
The final results from the NEC declared Mr. Momo Cyrus, an independent candidate, as the winner of the October 10, 2023 Lofa County Senatorial elections with 37,621 votes, followed closely by Mr. Moses Kollie of the CDC with 37,200 votes. “We are not pushing for a rerun; all we seek is a recount,” Kollie emphasized.
During the hearings, a legal team representing Mr. Kollie, led by Cllr. Sayma Syrenius Cephus, summoned ten witnesses to testify before the NEC hearing officer in the initial administrative hearing of the complaint.
A common theme in the testimonies of most witnesses was that the counting process took place in inadequate lighting conditions, as the lights provided by the NEC had run out of batteries. Consequently, witnesses resorted to using their phone lights during the counting process.
One witness recounted, “Due to the poor lighting, we couldn’t clearly see the ballot papers. When I requested a complaint form to file a formal complaint, the polling officer informed me it would be provided at the end of the process, which did not happen.”
The same witness also informed the hearing officer that he had been threatened by the polling officer with expulsion from the hall if he persisted in raising objections. “I witnessed ballots marked with Mr. Kollie’s face or the party logo being declared invalid, while those for Mr. Momo Cyrus were considered valid.”
On the other hand, Mr. Momo Cyrus expressed confidence in his victory, asserting that he had nothing to fear. He claimed that his supporters consisted of genuine Lofians residing in the County and that he had not engaged in any activities related to transporting voters.