By Grace Q. Bryant
The hearing Officer’s the National Elections Commission (NEC) has declared the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) candidate Simeon Bomia Taylor the winner of December 8, 2020 Senatorial Election in Grand Cape Mount County.
The National Elections Commission (NEC) hearing officer over the weekend came down with it ruling in the Grand Cape Mounty County’s electoral dispute case reaffirming the court’s earlier decision that declared him the winner.
According to the NEC, the ruling the Hearing Officer Kafuma Swaray said the complainant Victor Watson failed through the preponderance evidence to prove the allegations that Senator Taylor voted two times and that there were pre-marked ballots during election day.
Officer Swaray said that the complainant did not prove through the preponderance of the evidence that the signatures of poll watchers of Victor Watson was forged, neither did they prove that Mr. Simeon Taylor and his gangsters stopped their agents from entering polling places to observe the counting after polls were closed on Election Day.
The Hearing Officer further explained because the complainant, Victor Watson, and his legal team failed to produce overwhelming evidence to prove their allegations, the Administrative Hearing has no other ruling but to dismiss and denied their motion as pray for.
It can be recorded that the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP), candidate Simeon Boima Taylor was declared the winner of the senatorial election in Grand Cape Mount after accumulating the highest numbers of votes cast during the voting process.
When he announced as the winner in Grand Cape Mounty, his incumbent Senator, Victor Watson, filed a complaint at the NEC claiming that the process was marred with multiple flaws including alleged double registration and voting, counting of invalid votes in favor of Senator-elect Taylor, thereby increasing his number.
The case was later taken to the Supreme Court of Liberia after lawyers representing the legal interest of Mr. Watson took an appeal to the High Court when the Board of Commissioners of the NEC endorsed its Hearing Officer’s ruling, upholding the results which were announced in favor of Mr. Taylor.
The Supreme Court then mandated the NEC to re-conduct deeper investigation into the case which was filed by Mr. Watson.
However, NEC’s Hearing Officer, Kafumba Swaray handing down the ruling said, after a careful investigation, the Commission did not discover double registration by Simeon Taylor as alleged by Victor Watson.
In response to the National Elections Commission Friday ruling, lawyers representing Senator Victor Watson, Atty. Fumba Swaray has noted the acception of his client through his legal team, led by Cllr. Salibu Swary and granted the appeal to the Board of Commissioners, as a matter of law.
While awaiting NEC to mandate the Supreme Court decision for reaffirmed, some citizens of the county petitioned the House of Senate to take action to ensure the declaration of the December 8, 2020 result for the true representation of Grand Cape Mount in the upper chambers of the National Legislature.
The citizens, in their petition addressed to the Senate pro tempore Albert T. Chie, drew their reliance on the fact that the constitution of Liberia specifically grants the Legislature the authority to “provide penalties for any violations of the relevant provisions of” Chapter VIII, which is underscored in article 84.
The Constitutional article provides thus; “The legislature shall by law provide penalties for any violations of the relevant provisions of this Chapter, and shall enact laws and regulations in furtherance thereof not later than 1986; provided that such penalties, laws, or regulations shall not be inconsistent with any provisions of this Constitution.”