Representative Samuel Kogar of Nimba County has been declared winner of the April 22, 2025, Senatorial By-election held in the county, replacing late Senator Prince Yormie Johnson.
By Thomas Domah/ Nimba County
Sanniquellie, Liberia, April 25, 2025- The National Elections Commission has declared Representative Samuel Kogar as winner of the Nimba County Senatorial By-election held Tuesday, April 22, 2025.
Announcing final results of the by-election in the county, NEC Chairperson, Madam Davidette Browne Lasanna, said the Movement for Democracy and Reconstruction-Unity Party Alliance Candidate, Representative Samuel Kogar, won the polls by a total of 62,136 votes, constituting 52.08 percent of the total votes, followed by lone female Candidate Edith Gongloe-Wehyee with 40,506 votes, receiving 33.95 percent of the total votes cast. In third place is Candidate B. Mack Gbliwon.
Prior to the NEC pronouncement on Thursday in Sanniquellie City, Nimba County, Chairperson Browne Lasanna extended thanks to Nimbaians for a peaceful conduct of the election, while Madam Edith Gongloe-Wehyee conceded defeat to her main challenger, Representative Samuel Kogar.
The New Dawn gathered that most of the people from the Mano tribe of Madam Gongloe-Wehyee did not turn out hugely to vote, unlike voters from the Gio-speaking region.
Others blamed her constant absence from the county and long stay in the United States of America as factors responsible for her consistent defeated, this being her fourth time vying for the senate unsuccessfully.
Kogar’s victory
Vice President Jeremiah Koung, current leader of the MDR, personally went to the county and campaigned for Representative Samuel Kogar, warning voters in nine electoral districts not to make him shame, but rather to vote for the government-supported Candidate, Representative Samuel Kogar, who he described as the best person to replace the late Senator Prince Yormie Johnson.
During several engagements with voters prior to the election, Vice President Koung and Nimba County Superintendent Kou Meapeh Gono, openly announced that they will not support women candidates in elections until end of this administration’s tenure in 2029.
VP Koung was seen touring various towns and villages, campaigning for Kogar.
Reservation
Several Nimbaians have expressed reservations about Representative Samuel Kogar’s election to the senate, which has automatically created a vacant seat in the House of Representatives and necessitated another by-election to fill his seat in District#5 that could cost millions of dollars from the already bleeding national coffers. Editing by Jonathan Browne
