- Wants Supreme Court to decide UP’s fate
By. G. Bennie Bravo Johnson
The National Elections Commission of Liberia (NEC) stated on Friday, May 8, 2022, that the Lofa County senatorial by-election will be postponed to a late date to be determined by the National Legislature.
NEC Chairperson Madam Davidetta Browne-Lansanah told a press conference at the NEC headquarters in Sinkor that the decision was made due to an ongoing legal dispute between the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) and the ALL Liberian Party (ALP) and the Unity Party over the participation of a Unity Party aspirant in the Lofa by-election.
According to Madam Brown-Lansanah, because the current legal dispute is still pending before the Supreme Court of Liberia, the Commission has ruled that holding the Lofa County Senatorial By-election on May 10, 2022, as planned, will be impossible.
On February 16, 2022, the National Election Commission (NEC) got notification from the Honorable Liberian Senate of a vacancy in the Liberian Senate for a seat for Lofa County.
As a result, in accordance with Article 37 of the Liberian Constitution, the NEC has 90 days from the date of receipt of the abovementioned notification to call a by-election.
The NEC, on the other hand, scheduled the 2022 Lofa County Senatorial By-election for May 10, 2022, giving the Commission a week before the 90-day timeframe expired.
Given that any extension of the By-election date beyond the ninety-day constitutional limit will require further legal mandate, the NEC chairwoman emphasized that the Commission has already informed this stance to the Honorable Liberian Legislature.
“Following the final disposition by the Honorable Supreme Court of Liberia of the appeal related to the said 2022 Lofa County Senatorial By-election, the Commission will communicate a new date for the By-election to the people of Lofa and the Liberian People in general,” Madam Brown-Lanssah explained.
She goes on, meanwhile, as the legal process proceeds, the NEC urges all inhabitants of Lofa County and all parties in the Lofa County Senatorial By-election to be calm and peaceful.
The NEC boss also took the opportunity to express regret and concern over the alleged unexplainable disappearance of their logistic officer, Mr. Alfred T. Dunner, in Grand Gedeh County, describing the situation as tragic.
On a related issue, the NEC has learned with amazement of the unexplainable disappearance of its logistics Officer in Grand Gedeh County, Mr. Alfred T. Dunner, unrelated to the Lofa County By-election. “The Liberian National Police have been notified of the occurrence, and the Commission will continue to monitor the investigation’s progress. In the interim, we encourage all Liberians to pray for Mr. Dunner and his family’s safe return,” the chairperson of the NEC said.
