One of the contending issues in the ongoing trial of the just-ended Nimba County senatorial election dispute at the National Elections Commission (NEC) is a testimony as to whether or not a Collaborating Political Party (CPP) candidate signed a tally sheet and congratulated Senator-elect, Jeremiah Koung.
A witness who testified on behalf of the NEC and represented Senator-elect, Jeremiah Koung, in the just-ended Nimba County senatorial election has testified and confirmed that a representative of the CPP candidate, Edith Gongloe-Weh, signed a tally sheet and a week after posted on his official Facebook page, congratulating Jeremiah Koung.
Taking the witness stand on Friday, January 15, 2021, Edwin G. Korden, said he represented Senator-elect Koung as Chief Supervisor in Ganta, Nimba County.
He told the hearing that a CPP representative, Mophel Dekpah, participated in the process on behalf of Edith Gongloe-Weh, signed the tally sheet and a week later posted on his official Facebook page, congratulating Koung.
Korden testified that he was in Ganta on December 8, 2020 but later left for lower Nimba on December 9—11, 2020, where he also monitored the transparency of the process in Tarpitah, lower Nimba County, which has over 250 polling places.
Testifying further, he told the hearing officer, Cllr. Bokia Harris, that the Election Magistrate in Nimba drilled them through the electoral process and educated them about the filing of complaint, and raised the spirit of transparency for anyone to show dissatisfaction but not one record of complaint, according to him, was filed on December 8, 2020.
Korden was presented a tally sheet to identify the signatures and testify to all representatives. He affirmed to the signatures and further told the hearing that there were three persons who represented Edith Gonglo-Weh of the CPP, three persons for Jeremiah Koung of the Movement for Democracy and Reconstruction (MDR) and one person represented Garrison Yealu, who was defeated by Gunpue L. Kargon in the 2017 general and presidential elections.
During the hearing, Cllr. Arthur Johnson, one of the lawyers representing the interest of NEC and Correspondent Jeremiah Koung, presented the witness with a copy of the Facebook post from Mophel Dekpah, which he testified to and confirmed.
Mophel Dekpah’s Facebook post noted, “Congratulations message to representative District #1 and Senator-elect of Nimba County, Republic of Liberia, based on the pronouncement from the National Election Commission.”
Among other things, he added, “Hon. Jeremiah Koung, let me use this media to extend my congratulations to you for your election as Senator of Nimba County in the just ended mid-term senatorial election,” The trial continues today at 1:00 p.m.