Liberia: Incumbent Faces Defeat in Nimba District #4 Rerun Election

Unofficial results from the rerun elections held at two polling places at Beo Lonto Precincts in District 4, Nimba County, have reportedly caused an upset as the incumbent Representative, Gonpue L. Kargon, of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC), is said to be on the verge of losing his seat.

Kargon trailed behind Earnest Menseah of the Movement for Democracy and Reconstruction (MDR) of Senators Jeremiah Koung and Prince Yormie Johnson.

As the dust settles after this high-stakes electoral rematch, the results from the last two polling places have completed the count for all 84 polling places in that district. The total unofficial results show that Menseah garnered an impressive 435 votes, while Rep. Kargon trailed behind with just 170.

Menseah had previously garnered 7,325 of the 82 polling centers' votes cast during the legislative elections on October 10. When added to the 435 obtained from the two remaining centers, the count puts the MDR candidate at a total of 7,760. Kargon’s 170 votes in District #4, however, combined with his earlier count of 7,585, takes him to 7,755. There is a slim margin of 5 votes, which makes Menseah the winner of the district.

According to the National Elections Commission’s (NEC) Final Registration Roll (FRR) of the district, about 916 voters were eligible to vote in the two centers, with 510 at one center and 416 in the other. However, the rerun saw a little over half of the registered voters (362, 308) turning up to vote. The presence of security officers was huge, our reporter said.

Even though the rerun was peaceful, the potential for violence could be seen among the supporters of the two key opposing candidates, mainly incumbent Kargon and main rival Manseah.

One Dee Suomie, a resident of Trohplay, a nearby village across the big creek, complained of being beaten by supporters of Rep. Kargon while coming with 12 people to vote, though Dennis Paye, Chief of Staff to Rep. Gunpue, rebuffed the allegation.

Even though Nimba Police Commander Dixon Kemokai didn’t report on any incidentst, they also complained about the challenges encountered due to deplorable road conditions.

“The situation is peaceful, as you can see, but the road is bad and poses a challenge to our prompt intervention, but we thank God that everything is calm,” said Police Superintendent Dixon Kemokia.

While NEC is yet to be officially declared the winner of the controversial District #4 election result, Menseah’s supporters are said to be jubilating across Nimba County. However, Rep. Kargon is said to have challenged the result and has called on the NEC for a recount.

In 2017, there was a similar disruption in Beo Bongaplay, resulting in a rerun, which was also held under tight security. That election was hotly contested by the incumbent, Garrison Yealue, and his successor, Kargon, with the latter emerging victorious.

Once political archrivals in 2017, Kargon and Yealue have become buddies this term, as Yealue, who has since become a legal practitioner, Chairman of Liberia’s Governance Commission, and Deputy Chair of the George Weah reelection campaign, now serves as Kargon’s lead lawyer, calling for a recount. Both men seem to have settled their differences, as they are the torchbearers of the ruling CDC campaign in Nimba.

Meanwhile, there was a scene during the voting on Friday when a 23-year-old man was arrested and handed over to the Township Commissioner in Beo Lontuo on suspicion of carrying a bag filled with items believed to be associated with witchcraft activities to the voting precinct where the rerun elections were taking place.

Darius Gonkartee, who hails from the nearby Siaplay Lontuo community, said the contents of the bag included a picture of one of the representative candidates, cowrie shells (gamble seeds), horns, chains adorned with red cloths, and a lock of hair, among other items. He claimed that he was sent by one of the representative candidates, whose name he did not disclose.