Monrovia – Judging from the recent result in the Montserrado County by-election in which the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) lost its supposed stronghold to the opposition, many factors interplayed, including citizens’ dissatisfaction to partisans’ rebellion against their own political institution.
One factor is that even some senior partisans of CDC did not vote for their candidate, Paulieta Wie.
One story that has taken the social media is that of Representative Moses Acarous Gray of District #8 Montserrado County.
According to reports, Rep. Gray, who served as campaign spokesman for the party in the by-elections did not vote because he had misplaced his voting card and thinking that he had it, didn’t take advantage of lost-card replacement process by the National Elections Commission (NEC).
Besides the social media rumors, residents of the Rock Spring Valley in District #8, who usually vote at the same polling place where their Representative regularly votes, too, have told this newspaper that their lawmaker was never seen as he is usually among the first people to cast their ballots.
However, Rep. Gray has termed the rumor as “maximum stupidity.”
In a telephone conversation with this newspaper, Rep. Gray said: “It is maximum stupidity for anyone to think that I did not vote. Whoever that is coming from, even if it is you, it is maximum stupidity.”
As per practice according to some residents, who did voters registration at the Brighter Star International School in the Rock Spring Valley, they normally wait for their lawmaker, who usually votes late evenings on voting day to vote along with him but on July 29 that was not the case because he didn’t appear to cast his ballot up to the time of poll closing.
The four opposition parties-backed candidate, Mr. Abraham Darius Dillon, representing – Unity Party, Liberty Party, Alternative National Congress and All Liberian Party — cruised to an emphatic victory in the Montserrado County Senatorial race by-election, according to the official final tally announced by NEC.
NEC Chairman, Cllr. Jerome G. Korkoyah declared Mr. Dillon winner ahead of the ruling party’s candidate, Paulieta C. C. Wie.
In final numbers representing results from all 1,790 polling places or 100 percent in the Montserrado County, Dillon secured a total of 102,549 votes for 55.74 percent to Wie’s 63,971 votes for 34.77 percent.
In the 2014 Senatorial by-election, George Manneh Weah won 78% of the vote for the Montserrado county seat, when he beat Robert Sirleaf, the son of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who took nearly 11%.