Liberia: NEC Certificates Jallah 

​The National Elections Commission has officially certificated counselor Joseph Jallah as the winner of the just-ended Lofa County senatorial by-election.

The Lofa election, which was conducted on June 28,  shows that the votes obtained by   Jallah, who was heavily supported by the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change(CDC), were the highest in a simple majority electoral process.

The NEC chair, Davidette Browne Lansanah, noted that the seven days period provided for by law after an announcement of the results of the election has elapsed without any of the candidates or political parties who contested the June 28 Special Senatorial By-Election in Lofa filing a complaint against the victory of Jallah. 

“As such, it was necessary to certify the winner. Liberian law provides that any candidate or party who disagrees with the results may, within 7 days after the NEC announced the results, utilize the legal process, with the Supreme Court being the final arbiter. With the time elapsing without any complaint, the Commission today certifies Joseph Kpator Jallah of Lofa County,” Lansanah said.

The NEC chairperson explained that at the close of voting, the votes at each polling place were counted at the polls in the presence of party agents and independent observers.  She added that votes obtained by each candidate were recorded at the polls on a five-page carbon copy known as the record of account.

“The records of accounts signed by party agents were shared by the parties and a copy of each was posted on the wall for public viewing. After the votes have been counted, tallied, and known to the parties, the results show that Jallah won and the NEC, on July 1, declared him as the winner of the said by-election,” she added.

Jallah, In response, said the victory is a victory for unity and it is for lasting peace and reconciliation, noting further that his success stands tall above all egos, and it is for religious tolerance, harmony, and peaceful coexistence among the people of Lofa.

“To those who think they have lost, Lofa has not lost. Lofa shall continue to be our beacon of hope as well as the catalyst for social and economic development. We subject our will to the will of democracy. This is for the presence of our people, mainly from lower Lofa which is constituted of Kolahun, Foya, and Vahun Districts,”  he added.

“I was disappointed that some of our desperate losers are comparing the results counted and tallied in Lofa County without any proof that the results in their possession are different from those announced by the NEC.”

He then throws jibes at the former ruling Unity Party, saying that they were in error by raising alarm,  accusing the NEC of allegedly changing election results on its website. Jallah, who was supported by the ruling CDC, announced at his certification his plan to align with the ruling establishment.

UP explains 

Meanwhile, UP has said that while the party had no intention of challenging the result, they had however communicated to the electoral body pieces of evidence of irregularities that impacted the June 28 elections.

“I saw that most of the newspapers misquoted us. We said our legal team would communicate our position with the NEC,” Mo Ali, UP’s secretary general, told the Daily Observer in a phone interview.  “Unfortunately, we saw people running with the saying that UP has planned to go to court. That is not what we meant.”

Ali noted that his party, through its legal team, has outlined its findings to  NEC as well as demanded the entire membership of the Board of Commissioners,  and the leaders in the Commission’s central record center to resign.

“It was not the case. It was not challenging the results. We called for the resignation of the Commission and the IT department because of the incompetence they exhibited during the by-election in Lofa,” he said.

He noted that NEC should act on UP’s communication soon or the international community through embassies near Monrovia will get to know about the wrongdoings of the Commission. Ali added that one of the reasons, why UP declined to pursue any legal action against NEC, is that Lofa has been without a full representation at the Senate for nearly two years and, as such, the party’s standard bearer, former Vice President Joseph Nyumah Boakai does not want the county to continue without full representation.

“Joseph Boakai is the face of Lofa and we don’t want it to appear like we are fighting one group of people against another in Lofa,” Ali said.