Rep. Corneh dragged to Justice Ministry

The National Elections Commission or NEC says it is forwarding Montserrado County Electoral District #14 Representative Abraham Vamuyam Corneh to the Ministry of Justice for possible prosecution in connection with alleged trucking of people to register in his district.

Addressing a news conference in Monrovia Monday, February 27, the Chairman of the National Elections Commission Cllr. Jerome Kokorya said the commission received a petition from some residents of Electoral District #14 in which they accused Rep. Abraham V. Corneh of trucking people into the district to register.

“Because trucking is a criminal offense and we do not have prosecutorial powers over crimes, all such reports will be referred to the Ministry of Justice for action,” Chairman Korkoya said.

He said the NEC has defined voter trucking as the importation of people, either by a vehicle or foot, from their ordinary residence to get registered and vote in another area as nonresidents.

 The commission has frowned on the practice here, but what remains unclear is who determines where an eligible voter should register as a Liberian citizen.

Rep. Corneh, who is seeking reelection, has been persistently accused of trucking people into his district to register ahead of the October elections, but he has denied.

But as a result of the persistent allegation, some residents of the district protested and later submitted a petition to the Board of Commissioners of the National Elections Commission for redress.

Speaking to reporters recently, Rep. Cornehfrom the ruling Unity Party said, he believes in democracy, which calls for equal participation, saying he would not get involved in anything that undermines a free, fair and transparent electoral process in the country.
 His comments were in direct response to recent publications by some media outlets, linking him to secretly buying voter registration cards, trucking eligible voters and illegally controlling two voter registration centers designated by the National Elections Commission (NEC) in his district.

However, the District #14 lawmaker confirmed reports of influx of strange persons in the district, especially in the wake of the current voter registration exercise, but refuted the claim of having knowledge of their trucking.

By E. J. Nathaniel Daygbor-Editing by Jonathan Browne