The December 8, 2020 midterm and referendum elections have come and gone, surprisingly serener than the electioneering and campaigning period which was heavily marred by political and electoral violence. But under the calmness of the aftermath of the just-ended elections, a simmering tension continues to brew, evidenced by complaints from the opposition Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) who say they are deeply troubled by ongoing events growing out of what they claim is the fraudulent conduct of the Senatorial Election in Nimba County, where their candidate Madam Eith Gongloe-Weh is accordingly being cheated out of her legitimate electoral victory. The Liberty Party (LP) has therefore called for a rerun of elections at centers where it claims evidence of frauds occurred in Nimba.
Cataloging a litany of reasons why they say their candidate Madam Gongloe-Weh is being cheated, and therefore there should be a rerun, the Liberty Party in a press statement issued Monday, December 28, 2020, said its poll-watchers and technical team discovered deliberate inconsistencies in the numbers on the official record of count issued to their observers on the day of the election, compared to those published by the National Elections Commission (NEC).
The LP also complained about “the unauthorized and illegal substitution of sensitive election materials with the objective of perpetrating fraud; the deliberate exposure of votes to the ends of perpetrating fraud; and misfeasance and malfeasance on the part of NEC Officials,” as well as the chasing of their poll workers out of some polling places by local officials, thus depriving the candidate her right to obtaining authentic information of the conduct of the election in those places.
“Our evidence shows that these acts of fraud and irregularities were orchestrated against Madam Edith Gongloe-Weh the ultimate choice of the people, in favor of Representative Jeremiah Koung, the regime-sponsored candidate.
“As an alliance that is acclaimed for adherence to the rule of law, we are currently challenging the outcome of the Nimba County Senatorial Election for the foregoing reasons. From all the evidence in possession of our technical and legal teams, we are convinced that our candidate, Madam Edith Gongloe-Weh would have won the election by a convincing and irreversible margin if the fraud and irregularities which marked the process were never orchestrated and the bare minimum standards for credible elections were upheld,” the party lamented.
The Liberty Party also noted that while their legal challenge of the election result is ongoing, the government has allegedly embarked on a clearly fruitless effort to clean the trail of its mess by going to magisterial centers in the county to tamper with voting records.
“About two days ago, at 3 A.M., residents of Saniquellie alarmed over the surreptitious movement of people identified as officials of the NEC, accompanied by officers of the Liberia National Police, at a Magisterial Center in the county. This prompted the unprovoked arrest and ill-treatment of the Secretary General of Liberty Party’s Nimba County Chapter, Mr. Princeston Lofan, by officers of the Liberian National Police.
“The LP in no uncertain terms condemns acts of violence meted out against peaceful citizens who alarmed over the alleged, strange joint-operations of NEC and LNP personnel in the county and calls for the immediate and unconditional release of LP Nimba County Chapter’s Secretary General and all those arrested in the aftermath of the aforementioned events, or we would begin unspecified political actions to demand their release. We believe that they have done absolutely nothing wrong to warrant such blatant violation of their rights; a conduct reminiscent of the days of jungle justice, coup d’etat and all forms of civil unrest in our country.,” the LP stated emphatically, promising to do everything both politically and legally to ensure that the results representing the votes the people of Nimba cast are announced.
“We shall not sit idly and allow the regime rob the people of Nimba of a victory they deserve through repression, reckless vote rigging, etcetera. We are determined to fight this matter to its legal and political conclusions with all the energy and resources we can possibly command,” the LP statement signed by its Deputy Secretary for Press and Public Affairs, Kla-Edward Toomey, II
pledged.