Who stands against Sen. Taylor?

The National Elections Commission or NEC has announced the date for the re-run of the December 24, 2014 Senatorial by-elections in the three disputed areas in District #7, Bong County.

The move comes weeks after the Supreme Court ordered a re-run following its ruling into a complaint filed by one of the contestants, Dr. Henrique Tokpa citing irregularities at Sanoyea Market, Yarbayeh Public School and Bletenda Palava Hut all in Electoral District #7 in lower Bong County.

But just weeks after the Supreme Court issued its order for the re-run, Dr. Tokpa announced his withdrawal from the re-run saying, he only wanted to prove that there were irregularities that denied him the chances of winning. He is said to have since communicated his withdrawal to NEC.

However, despite the complainant’s withdrawal, NEC says the re-run will go ahead as ordered by the court, adding that there were other candidates in the race and that they are prepared for the re-run.

Sen. Jewel Howard Taylor who is at the center of the electoral fraud is yet to make a public statement on the issue, except for a few female politicians amongst them Sen. Geraldine Doe-Sheriff who has condemned the Constitutional Court’s ruling.

with her main contender out of the picture, incumbent Sen. Taylor will have to brace herself to face the other defeated candidates in the race. But the question still remains though-who will face her?

On August 7, the Constitutional Court mandated NEC to conduct a re-run of the election within 60 days as of August 7, following its ruling Henrique F. Tokpa versus National Elections Commission and the National Patriotic Party’s Candidate Jewel Howard Taylor.

On Monday, August 31, the NEC said areas where the re-run will be conducted comprise two precincts and one polling center. The two precincts and polling center in question include Sanoyea Market, Polling Place Number 5, Yarbayeh Public School Precinct and Beletenda Palava Hut Precinct.

The date for the re-run of the election was announced Monday at a ceremony held at the headquarters of the Commission in Monrovia. During the ceremony, Chairman Jerome George Korkoya mandated the Clerk of Writs, Antoinette Johnson, to Issue a Writ for the Re-run of the Special Senatorial Election on the Elections Magistrate of Lower Bong County, Barzie Kpangba.

Madam Johnson mandated the Magistrate to conduct a re-run in the disputed areas on September 29, 2015 from the hours of 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM. She authorized the Lower Bong County Elections Magistrate to certify the endorsement of the writ of election by submitting to her office, the results of the election following the completion of the electoral process.

A Writ of Election is a legal instrument that authorizes Elections Magistrates to proceed with the conduct of elections. The issuance of the writ of Election is a requirement of Chapter 4 sub-section 4.3 of the New Elections Law of 1986.

By Winston W. Parley -Edited by Othello B. Garblah