DAVID A. YATES
Africa-Press – Liberia. A defeated senatorial candidate from Bomi County has expressed dissatisfaction over the election results being announced by the National Elections Commission (NEC).
Soko Adama Dorley, an independent candidate in the just-ended October 10 presidential and legislative elections, challenged the result following the NEC’s pronouncement that former Speaker J. Alex Tyler has emerged as the winner of the senatorial election in that county.
NEC’s daily provisional results for Bomi County revealed that J. Alex Tyler got a total vote of 16,509, constituting 34.46%; Dorley received a vote of 14,940, constituting 31.19%; and Morris G. Saytumah got a total vote of 7,690, constituting 16.05%.
In a press conference held yesterday, the defeated senatorial candidate claimed that there were many irregularities and discrepancies during the electoral process that compromised its fairness and integrity.
“We have all our facts and evidence, and we believed I rubbed us at the last point in the count to succeed as the next senator of Bomi County.”
“Fraud,” according to Dorley, “should not be tolerated in any electoral process; therefore, we are going to defend our right by challenging the result that hails from Bomi County.”
Dorley also alleged that there were instances of voter intimidation, bribery, and even ballot stuffing in certain polling stations across Bomi County.
The defeated Bomi County Senatorial candidate argued that these actions significantly influenced the outcome of the election and undermined the will of the people.
He, therefore, called on the NEC for a thorough investigation into these allegations to ensure transparency and restore public trust in the electoral process.
According to him, his campaign team had submitted multiple complaints regarding these irregularities but received no satisfactory response or action from the commission.
“This lack of responsiveness only added to his frustration and raised doubts about the NEC’s commitment to upholding democratic principles,” he declared.
Moreover, the independent senatorial candidate expressed deep concern over the potential consequences of the NEC’s bias and inefficiency.
He emphasized that a fair and transparent electoral process is the cornerstone of any thriving democracy.
Dorley maintained that the lack of impartiality and responsiveness exhibited by the commission not only undermines public trust but also jeopardizes the integrity of the entire election.
“Let me say this for the record. All those who perpetrated or participated in this scam should be brought to book and should not be allowed to take part in any electoral procedures again in this country,” he said. “We, as a team, want to look at Mr. Dean to be critically analyzed, and we have evidence of his previous act of soliciting bribe to give the elections to someone at the appropriate time. Those documents will be released to the public if we are challenged.”
He urged the NEC to address these issues promptly and take concrete actions to restore confidence in their ability to uphold democratic principles.
In light of these serious accusations, he said, it is imperative that a comprehensive investigation be conducted to uncover the truth and hold those responsible accountable.
Dorley told reporters yesterday that as per the tally, they won four of the administrative districts in the county, and acknowledged that he lost one which is the home of the former speaker J. Alex Tyler.
“Therefore, we are calling on the Bomi to be classified as a red zone for the senatorial race to be put into question. My team will be in the process of asking for a re-run of the entire process in Bomi County.”
He also called on international partners, CSOs, to get involved in this because he believes that this is about the people of Bomi and not him.
“As the night progressed on the election evening, we started to take a commanding lead after the tallying from Senji district, and the results started coming in from close by in Clay, where former Speaker Tyler comes from.” Dorley explained. “As soon as we started to take the lead, we noticed that things became quiet and nothing was coming in from the Senji district again.
“All of a sudden, a large number of votes started coming in from where the speaker was born, and so we sent in the tally sheet, and when our observer brought in the sheet, we noticed that it was not corresponding with what we had and what reflected on the actual records that come from NEC; in fact, they could not produce some of those facts and findings from NEC that they didn’t have, and we noticed strange numbers started coming in.”
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