ISHMAEL F. MENKOR
Africa-Press – Liberia. Garrison Yealue, Chairperson of the Governance Commission, has rebuked the Election Coordination Committee (ECC) for linking him to the disruption of the Nimba County tally center in Sanniquellie on October 13.
Yealue, who is also serving as the Deputy Chairman for the reelection campaign of President Weah — a violation of the National Code of Conduct Law, claimed that the report by the country’s largest domestic non-partisan election observer body was full of disinformation and misinformation — only intended to tarnish “his hard-earned reputation he has maintained for years.”
“As part of the [ruling] CDC campaign team, I traveled from Karnplay City to Sanniquellie to file a complaint with the Upper Nimba Magistrate Office of the National Election Commission of Liberia,” he said. “After the complaint process was successfully completed, I left the compound with no modicum of violence.”
“I was surprised to hear that there was violence and disruption from my visitation in the compound when I left peacefully and went to Ganta and celebrated my birthday with my people. My personality is calm, and my nature is peaceful, and I have never tolerated, condoned, or appreciated any acts of violence, whatsoever,” he declared.
According to the ECC, Yealue had gone to the tally center in Sanniquellie with seven cars filled with supporters of the ruling party to file a complaint, and in the process, the tallying process was disrupted, resulting in several hours’ suspension.
“This led to the suspension of the process for several hours during the day, which compelled national and international observers to leave the center,” the group said in a statement on Oct. 14. “[We] view these incidents as deliberate attempts to interfere with the tallying process, undermine the credibility of the election results, and compromise the integrity of the outcome,” the ECC said. The National Civil Society Council of Liberia also corroborated the ECC’s claims, squarely blaming Yealue for the Nimba incident.
However, this is not the first time Yarlue has been accused of coming into conflict with the law. In September, Yealue was appointed as Deputy Campaign Manager of the Weah-Taylor 2023 reelection campaign by President Weah himself, in glaring violation of the act that created the Governance Commission and the National Code of Conduct for Public Officials.
Upon receiving his new partisan mandate, Yealue vowed to campaign for President Weah’s re-election. His appointment contravenes Section 5.3.4 of the Governance Commission Act, which states that commissioners must maintain a non-partisan stance to prevent the commission’s agenda and processes from being influenced by political biases.
The appointments also violate Section 5.1.3 of the Code of Conduct for Public Officials, which explicitly prohibits public officials from engaging in political activities while in office.
Meanwhile, Yealue has disclosed that as a legal practitioner, he cannot do anything against the law or do anything that will undermine the credibility of the election, as claimed by the ECC.
“It is equally important for civil society actors to verify reports given to them by field staff before releasing press releases or statements that have the propensity to tarnish the reputation of another person,” he added. “I am particularly appalled and dismayed at how Oscar Bloh and his ECC ran with the fake news spewed by Senator Prince Johnson.”
According to Yealue, when he got to the tally center in Sanniquellie, he first approached a police officer who led him and his followers to “the main office, where the tally was going on,” but was told by the assistant magistrate to instead go to the ‘hearing office’, where he went and successfully filed his complaint.
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