Rivercess by-election today

Voters of Electoral District #2 of Rivercess County  are today, April 21, 2015, going to the various polling centres to cast their ballots for candidates of their choice in a By-Electioon.

Electoral District Number 2 comprises 19 voting precincts and  42 polling places, with a total number of 16,003 registered voters.

A total of 840 tags will be given to agents of political parties and the only independent candidate contesting the Representative By-Election in the District, the National Election Commission has said in a statement.

NEC announced recently the arrival of ballot papers for the today’s election to vote in a new Representative of Electoral District Number 2 in Rivercess County.

The Acting Chairman of the Commission, Cllr. Sarah Toe, made the declaration last Wednesday, April 15, 2015 at a news conference held at the Commission’s headquarters in Sinkor, Monrovia.

According to Cllr. Toe, a total of 24,200 ballot papers have been printed and delivered to the National Elections Commission and are now in the county for the poll. 

She indicated that the ballot papers, printed in the West African State of Ghana, were brought into the country on Monday, April 13, 2015. 

The Acting NEC Boss said In keeping with the key electoral dates of the Rivercess County Electoral District Number 2 Representative By-Election, the Commission, on March 25, 2015, officially certified ten candidates to contest the By-Election, and by the same token, officially declared the start of political campaigning on the same day.

“Since the start of campaigning, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, there has been no official report of rancor or misbehaviour either on the part of the candidates or their supporters. This is a very welcome development and we wish to implore the candidates and their supporters to continue along this path up to midnight April 19, 2015, the official date for the end of political campaigning,” Cllr. Toe said.

She also said that in preparation for the polling process today, the National Elections Commission  concluded the process of recruiting more than 200 temporary staff to serve as poll workers and those shortlisted candidates have been processed and trained to conduct today’s polling activities.

The Acting Chairman of the Commission informed journalists that 26 International Observers, 44 National Observers and 840 independent candidates and political party agents  have been accredited by the Commission to observe today’s Representative  By-election in Rivercess County.

Among institutions accredited by the Commission are the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES); United States Embassy;  African Union, European Union, UNMIL, UNDP, the Catholic Justice and Peace Commission (JPC), the Elections Coordinating Committee and the Angie Brooks International, among others.

10 candidates certified by the Commission to contest the Representative By-Election include one female and nine males. They include:  Bartee, Sr. Charles Zarkpah of the Congress For Democratic Change or CDC;  Doue, G. Thomas of the Alternative National Congress or ANC; Greene, Jerry Floh of the ruling Unity Party, Mentoe Hilary an Independent, and Paul Gabriel of the National Patriotic Party. 

Other are Reeves, Jerome Garmonblo of the Union of Liberian Democrats, Wally Matthew of the Liberty Party, Wesseh, Lucky of the National Democratic Coalition, Zah, Kofi Bob of the People’s Unification Party and Zahnwea, Byron Wehgbiah of the Movement for Progressive Change.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Alex Tyler, in concert with article 37 of the Liberian Constitution, on January 22, 2015, wrote The National Elections Commission (NEC) notifying it of the existence of a vacancy in the House of Representatives.

In the letter, Speaker Tyler informed the Commission that the vacancy is a result of the election of  Rivercess County Electoral District Number 2 Representative, Francis Paye, as Senator during the December 20, 2014 Special Senatorial Election.

By E. J. Nathaniel Daygbor