Lawmaker disrupts VR process

A Liberian Lawmaker has reportedly disrupted ongoing voter registration process at the Barclay Mission Community in Montserrado County electoral district#3. Information obtained by this paper revealed that while staffers of the National Elections Commission (NEC) were actively conducting registration on Monday, 6th February at the David G. Barshell School System in Paynesville, Representative Bill Twehway allegedly ordered the exercise stopped.

This paper reliably gathered that the incumbent Lawmaker, who is also seeking re-election, instructed group of individuals over 40 to disrupt the process, but they met strong resistance from dozens of eligible voters’ who were already in queue waiting for their VR cards.

Eyewitnesses told The New Dawn that Representative Twehway and his group then took down materials of the National Elections Commission from inside the Barshell school campus on the main street leading to Barclay Mission Community; from where the registrants and other staffs were transferred to the Barclay Mission football field.

Representative Twehway, according to witnesses, contended decision of the National Elections Commission to use the premises of Mr. CeebeeBarshell, who is an aspirant for the district’s seat as VR center.

The witnesses added that while the NEC team was on the Barclay Mission Field, preparing to re-start the registration process, Representative Twehway and his men again stormed the football field and again disrupted the exercise.

Our sources added that the residents, who were apparently feed-up with the action of Representative Twehway, declared in laud tune that the days of the UP lawmaker are numbered because they would not re-elect him in the 10th October presidential and representative elections.

However, an official of the NEC, who spoke to this paper on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the David G. Barshell School System campus was used in 2005 and 2011, respectively for voter registration.

The NEC official said if Representative Twehway had any problem with the center, he could have written the National Elections Commission, which has oversight for the conduct of elections in the country to see what step it would take, but not to disrupt the process, as doing so is a complete violation of the elections laws of Liberia.

Presently, the NEC VR process is taking place in the same community, but in the open with a piece of tarpaulin tied to a plum tree where voters’ registration staffs of the commission were operating with no security presence.

Mr. Casious Brown, head of the David G. Barshell University, who spoke to this paper, expressed disappointment in the action of the lawmaker, which caused serious panic among students, who were on campus doing regular academic works.

When the office of the Acting Communication Director of the National Elections Commission (NEC) was contacted on Wednesday, this reporter was informed that Mr. Joseph Nyensuah had left for lunch.

The Director for Press and Public Affairs at the House of Representatives Isaac Redd, was contacted by this paper, he said Representative Twehway had travelled.

By Emmanuel Mondaye-Editing by Jonathan Browne