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of Intervenor/Complainants witnesses, Josiah Joekai admitted at the Hearing
that the roll was published and made available to political parties. On the
issues of the missing polling places claimed by the Complainants, witness Lighe
informed the Hearing Officer that during the conversion of the data by the
Intervenor/Complainants' witness, data were lost and some were corrupted
during the process. The Complainants claimed that at Tokpa Polu Public
School, the CDC candidate was given 1109 votes in excess of the required
registered voters at the center. On this claim, witness Lighe provided that it
was an error on the part of the Presiding Officer, but that said error was
corrected at the Tally Center and only 110 votes was processed in favor of the
CDC candidate, they submitted the corrected record of count and it was
admitted
into
evidence.
The
first
Complainant
and
the
Intervenor/Complainants said that ballot papers were discovered in Grand
Gedeh County after the elections and admitted into evidence photograph and
video recording. On this claim witness Lighe told the Hearing Officer that the
posters were 'Know Your Candidate posters that were altered and used in the
process.
Further to Intervenor/ Complainants' claim that the Defendant is maintaining
more than one voter roll and that the addition to the roll on the day of election
amount to an alteration of the roll, in a violation of the law. On this allegation
witness Lighe provided that the addition to the voter roll is a procedure that
is allowed as provided for in the Polling and Counting Procedure Manual
promulgated by the NEC. The Witness presented into evidence the Polling and
Counting Manual for 2005, 2011 and 2017 all of which has provisions that
allow polling staff, security officer who are not registered at a center but
assigned there on elections day to vote and to be added on a space at the back
of the final registration roll. And also that the Commission maintains only one
roll, that which was distributed to the political parties. As to the Complainant's
claim that polling places were change without notice to the voters, this claim
was rebutted by the testimony of witness, that the public was given sufficient
notice as to the change of any polling place during the election period.
The two witnesses of the Defendant testified to difficulties and challenges
faced by the Defendant during the conduct of the October 10, 2017 elections.
The witnesses informed the Hearing Officer that polling staff could not identify
voters in the Final Registration Roll even though the voters were registered
and had their particulars in the roll. This was established during the hearing
when Complainant witnesses Wilmot Paye and Josiah Joekai who earlier
testified that on the day of election, their particulars were not found in the
FRR but were added and allowed to vote. The Defendant witness Lighe
demonstrated the FRR for the centers where the witnesses registered and it
was indeed established that the two witnesses though added to the roll yet
their photos and other particulars where in the FRR. On the day of election,
voters arrived at most polling places before the queue controller and arranged
their own queue making it difficult to redirect the voters to their proper
rooms. The Defendant witnesses testified to difficulties that impeded the
timely opening of some of the polls, some due to the over flooding of rivers
where the polling staff had to carry the materials in canoes and that some due
to long distances were the polling staff having carry the materials on their
heads. The Hearing Officer is not convinced that these challenges and
difficulties alluded to by the Defendant during the hearing of this complaint