Monrovia – It appeared to be a smart decision when Rep. Edwin Snowe (Montserrado, District 6) decided to switch representation to Bomi County where he intends representing District 1 in that county, but his decision is now dealing him a big blow.
Report by Lennart Dodoo, [email protected]
The heavy weight lawmaker is now defending his political intent to contest in Bomi County instead of Montserrado from two sides as Rep. Samuel Garyah Karmo and Senator Sando Johnson – both of Bomi County – filed complaints against him.
The two lawmakers have grounded their argument on Rep. Snowe decision to cross carpet to Bomi while he remains a sitting lawmaker of District 6 in Montserrado County is a violation of electoral laws, especially so when has not domiciled in the county for a year or more as required by Section 5.7 of the NEC Regulations and Guidelines Relating to Political Parties and Independent Candidates.
Section 5.7 which talks about domicile for a legislative seat
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In addition to meeting other requirements, a person aspiring for a seat in the National Legislature must meet the following:
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For a seat in the House of Representatives, the person must have been domiciled in the constituency for which he or she will be a candidate for at least one year prior to the Election Day, and must be a regular taxpayer;
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For a seat in the Senate, the person must have been domiciled in the county for which he or she will be a candidate for at least one year prior to the Election Day, and must be a regular taxpayer
Rep. Karmo lost the case at the county magistrate level in Bomi but he filed an appeal – the hearing officer at NEC is yet to rule in into the appeal.
In his appeal, Rep. Karmo noted that “As to the elections magistrate’s ruling to which he attempts to confer a legal status on Hon. Snowe’s properties in Senjeh District, Bomi County amounting to a domicile residence qualification without any hearing or any proof, therefore, is a legal deception and an unethical behavior that lacks legal efficacy.”
“How can an issue of domiciliary that was voluntarily waived/dropped by respondent’s counsel and restricted by the election magistrate from being raised in the hearing at bar possibly be passed/ruled on when voluntarily withdrawn, waived, dropped from the elections commission sitting and hearing by the respondent’s counsels.”
In an interview with FrontPageAfrica, Rep. Karmo asked – “What precedent does Hon. Snowe wants to set?
How can he say he is domiciled in Bomi County when he represents a district in Montserrado County? He cannot say he is domiciled in Bomi simply because he has businesses there.”
However, similar complaints filed by Senator Sando Johnson hooked Rep. Snowe in a ruling by the NEC ruling officer, Cllr. Muana S. Ville on Monday. Snowe, according to the ruling does not measure up with the domicile requirement.
Rep. Snowe was represented by Cllr. A. N. Mwandubike while Senator Johnson was represented by Matthais Omeja.
Though the ruling is yet to be released to the public, FrontPageAfrica gathered that Snowe’s denial to be part of the October 10 elections was, among other things, due to the fact he admitted in his affidavit that he is a resident of Montserrado County District 6.
Rep. Snowe could not say much to FrontPageAfrica when contacted concerning the ruling.
“The NEC ruling officer has ruled against me in the case involving Senator Sando Johnson on the issue of Domicile, but I am taking appeal to the Board of Commissioners,” he said.
He, however, told the Bumper Show on ELBC that he welcomes the NEC ruling and will await the ruling from the Board of Commissioners and may proceed to the Supreme Court if he’s not satisfied with the ruling they will give.
He added that he is, meanwhile, proceeding with his campaign in the county.
The Communications Director at the NEC, Henry Boyd Flomo told FrontPageAfrica Rep. Snowe is permitted to go ahead with his campaign since he took an appeal.
“You know when someone takes an appeal he or she cannot serve whatever punishment he’s supposed to serve for the offense.”
Sen. Johnson is on record for vowing to ensure that Rep. Snowe does not represent any district of Bomi County. “If it even costs me my blood, (life) I will make sure Snowe does not take power in Bomi,” he said on the Bumper Show March this year.
“Snowe has failed the people of Montserrado District #6 and the Bomi citizens’ sympathy to have allowed him to have a parcel of land to plant his oil palm plantation so he could escape the shame, has made him unfocused and unwilling to realize the critical hurdles ahead of him,” Johnson further said.
He further accused Rep. Snowe of trucking people from other parts of the country to Bomi to build up his numbers to vote for him.
Bomi Endorses Snowe
Two Saturdays ago, at least 27 chiefs and elders in Bomi County endorsed the bid of Edwin Snowe to be their representative in the 54th Legislature.
At an elaborate program, the chiefs under the banner “Stakeholders Council of Senje District” said their decision to support Rep. Snowe is because he is a “son who knows the challenges Senjeh is faced with and a son who listens”.
The Bomi Stakeholders Council noted that the district needs equal representation and decision making opportunity, therefore, they are looking forward to someone who will empower the youth through education and the women through vocational training and business, which they believe will improve the living condition of the people in the district.
“At this point in time, we, the people of Senje, are interested in a leader who will prioritize reconciliation, justice and peace.
“Now, therefore, having assessed the political landscape and extensive consultations, we the stakeholders and eminent citizens of Senjeh have unanimously decided to endorse the incoming representative of Senjeh District Hon. Edwin Melvin Digkay Snowe candidate of our choice in the upcoming October presidential and general elections.
According to the stakeholders of the county, they chose Snowe because he proven to them that he is reliable and humble and will make a good representation of them.
“Considering that has contributed immensely to the economic growth and governance of our nation in the past decades, our yearning for positive transformation, unity, reconciliation and social justice has often been undermined through politics by those who we chose to represent us at the Legislature,” they noted in the endorsement statement.
The Bomi Stakeholders Council noted that the district needs equal representation and decision making opportunity, therefore, they are looking forward to someone who will empower the youth through education and the women through vocational training and business, which they believe will improve the living condition of the people in the district.
“At this point in time, we, the people of Senje, are interested in a leader who will prioritize reconciliation, justice and peace.
“Now, therefore, having assessed the political landscape and extensive consultations, we the stakeholders and eminent citizens of Senjeh have unanimously decided to endorse the incoming representative of Senjeh District Hon. Edwin Melvin Digkay Snowe candidate of our choice in the upcoming October presidential and general elections.
According to the stakeholders of the county, they chose Snowe because he proven to them that he is reliable and humble and will make a good representation of them.
“We need you because you are straight-forward individual. We support you because you have the experience and we consider you to be our best option.”
” Our endorsement stems from our six years interaction you have with us and scope with the reconciliation and transformation spirit you have displayed to us,” the noted.