Monrovia – The opposition Liberty Party (LP) in Liberia has requested the Supreme Court to issue a writ of prohibition against the National Elections Commission to halt the Nov 7 runoff election.
Report by Bettie K. Johnson Mbayo, [email protected]
The petition outlines that the Oct 10, 2017 elections were marred by gross irregularities and fraud, and is calling for a re-election.
The party said the re-run is in line with Article 83(c) of the Liberian Constitution which states: “Any party or candidate who complains about the manner in which the elections were conducted or who challenges the results thereof shall have the right to file a complaint with the Elections Commission. Such complaint must be filed not later than seven days after the announcement of the results of the elections”.
The LP also referenced Section 6.1 of the Elections Law of Liberia which states: “Any political party or candidate who has justifiable reasons to believe that the elections were not impartially conducted and not in keeping with the Elections Law, which resulted in his defeat or the defeat of a candidate shall have the right to file a complaint with the Commission; such complaint must be filed not later than 7 days after the announcement of the results of the elections”.
The party’s standard bearer, Cllr. Charles Walker Brumskine says the party has submitted evidence to NEC to back up its claims of elections irregularities.
Adding that there is evidence to show that ballot boxes were broken into by NEC presiding officers; and there is also evidence of indicating that NEC presiding officers allowed people to vote after polls were closed and ballot boxes were being sealed.
The high court has not taken any action since the petition was received.
The petition will be heard by the full bench of the Supreme Court but Chief Justice Francis Korkpor is reportedly out of Liberia.