The full bench through its Chief Justice Francis Kporkpor has affirmed the decisions of the National Elections Commission which declared Senatorial candidate Edwin Melvin Snowe as winner of the December 8, 2020 midterm elections in Bomi County.
Justice Kporkpor in his ruling over the weekend ordered the clerk to send a mandate to the NEC to resume jurisdiction over the case.
He added that where an administrative agency has made its findings and those findings are supported by law and backed by the records, “this court will not disturb the conclusion drawn and the ruling made thereon by the agency.”
According to him the Law provides that a party may request the dismissal of one or more claims against him at the time of the service of a responsive pleading, however, where a party fails to make such request at the time of service of a responsive pleading, that party is deemed to have waived his right; the exception being that a request for dismissal for lack of subject matter jurisdiction is never waived and can be raised before the Supreme Court.
He emphasized that the appellant did not establish fraud and irregularities in the case; and while there were errors committed during the election process which were brought to the attention of the NEC officials and corrected, he added that said errors did not operate to produce a different result other than the result of the midterm election declared by the NEC in Bomi County.
Justice Kporkpor’s decision came when the ruling Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) filed against the National Elections Commission (NEC) and Senator-elect of Bomi County, Edwin Snowe to court over alleged wide spread electoral fraud and irregularities across over 30 polling places in the county.
According to the petition the Supreme Court to prohibit the NEC from certifying Senator-elect Snowe who has already been declared winner of the senatorial election in the county until their complaint which has already been heard and adjudged by the NEC independent Hearing Officer is decided by the Board of Commissioners and possibly, the Supreme Court.
The CDC alleged that several tally sheets bearing Grand Gedeh County instead of Bomi were discovered in the county. The tally sheets marked Grand Gedeh with voting precinct C.H. Dewey District #1 Polling place 1 center code: 033071 and voting precinct Malema Town District #2 Polling place 1 center code 0304 had on them results inserted for nine candidates while there were only five candidates in Bomi County.
“How possible would senatorial candidates from Grand Gedeh County become part of the senate record of the count for senatorial candidates for Bomi County which constitutes gross irregularities and fraud?” the CDC averred in the complaint.
According to the ruling party whose candidate in the Bomi senatorial race was J. Alex Tyler, they also discovered that several Senate record of the count exceeded the total distribution of ballot papers per polling place.
The CDC cited a voting precinct Gbah Jeh-keh, District #1 polling place 4, center code: 03006 which used 163 ballot papers while the unused, spoiled and discarded ballot papers were 550 – bringing it to a total of 713 instead of the 550 reportedly supplied to the center by the NEC.
The complaint further noted that there were similar irregularities in the reconciliation of the ballot papers reportedly supplied and the number of used, unused, spoiled and discarded ballot papers at a number of other polling places including voting precinct Barmo Palava Hut District #1 polling center 1, code 03002; Nyoundee Town Hall, District #2 polling place 1, center code 03007; Geveh Fahncee District 2 polling place 1; Marry Camp District 1, Sackie Town, District 1, polling place 1, center code 03042.
The ruling party also stated that another irregularity that appeared on the face of the senate record of count showed that voting precinct Red Hill Palaver Hut District #1, polling place 1, center code 03047, ballot cast were 409, zero unused, spoiled, discarded totaling 409 instead of the 550. They also alleged that during the tallying of the results, the ballot boxes seal were broken without authorization from their representative which necessitated a recount leading to their candidate “obtaining four votes which was the actual votes which were said to have been obtained during the physical counting of the votes cast; petitioner’s votes were inflated to 41”.
“Additionally, on the tally sheet of the same polling place 139 [ballot papers] were discovered in the ballot box instead of 409, difference of 270 ballot papers,” the complaint stated.
The CDC contended that the NEC decided not to conduct a free, fair and transparent elections because their representative and Rep. Snowe’s representatives who were in the tally room on December 9 consented that two of the ballot boxes had multiple problems and should therefore be quarantined and was quarantined. However, the NEC went on to tally the results without the knowledge of the CDC.
According to the CDC, in addition inconsistency in reconciling the ballot papers, they also observed multiple colored stamps on the Senate count record and the multiple use of correction fluid which is against the NEC regulations.
“Petitioner says total polling places that were occasioned by massive fraud, irregularities, alterations and discrepancies were 45 and multiplying 45 polling places by 500 votes per each polling place will yield the product of 22,500 votes. Petitioner says that it is worthy to note that if any one of the candidates fairly and accurately obtained half of the total votes in the December 8, 2020 Special Senatorial Elections will become true and uncontestable winner.”
The Independent Hearing Officer at the NEC after entertaining arguments and reviewing the evidence made available observed that the CDC’s lawyer could not specifically show that said irregularities, flaws and illegalities resulted to.