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Registration Card should be verified through the SMS verification system
managed by the NEC. (ii) If the person carrying such "Registration Card" is
on the list of persons provided by the NEC who have been removed from
the Registration Roll, either because of double registrations, or because
such person is underage, such person should not be allowed to vote.
Again, the verification was never done by the NEC. Now, whether those
who left the Polling Places, prior to the NEC's announcement, allowing
every person carrying a voter registration card to vote, were legitimate
voters, deprived of their constitutional right to vote; or, those who voted,
following the NEC announcement, were individuals who should not have
been allowed to vote, were not considered by the BOC in dismissing the
appeal of the Appellants.
10. 1st Appellants say and aver that the Board of Commissioners (BOC)
committed a reversible error when the BOC, in its Final Ruling, failed to
take into consideration the testimony of the Appellee's second witness,
Mr. Yarsiah, as summarized on page 23 of the Final Ruling of the BOC.
Mr. Yarsiah testified, "... that the political parties were informed of and
taught how to use the SMS system." 1st Appellants submit that it is the
statutory duty of the Appellee to instruct voters on how to use the SMS
system, and not political parties. The Appellee, therefore, cannot
escape such important duty, which may determine whether a Liberian
can exercise his or her constitutional right to vote, to a political party.
Obviously, the SMS system, as handled by the Appellee, excludes those
Liberians who are not members of political parties; and, it certainly
disadvantages those Liberians who do not have access to cell phone
and/or the Internet.
Appellants' Allegation Concerning Fraudulent Acts
11. 1st Appellants say and aver that the Board of Commissioners (BOC)
committed a reversible error when the BOC, in its Final Ruling, held that,
"As to Appellants' allegation that the CDC ticket was given 1109 votes at
the Tokpaipolu Public School, polling place in District #6, polling place #1
in Bong County, in excess of the required registered voters at said polling
place, witness Lighe stated that it was an inadvertence on the part of the
Presiding Officer, but same was corrected and that only 110 voted were
processed as cast for the CDC ticket. The corrected "record of count"
signed by the parties was testified to and admitted into evidence. For the
benefit of this decision, we herein produce the original record of the
count." 1St Appellants Counsel asked witness Lighe, "Mr. Witness, you
testified here today with regards of records of count that we introduced
into evidence that shows 1109 votes at a station that it should not have
been more than 550 or 500 registered voters, can you tell me as a matter
of policy or practice, the records of count, at what point in time are they
signed by the political parties and the presiding officers?" [Page 35 of
the Minutes—Liberty Party cross examination of Defendant First
Witness/Lami Lighe] Answer: "The records of count are signed after the
counting at the poll, after the counting of ballots, completion of the
reconciliation, completion of sorting, counting completed, votes
recorded then the records of count are signed. [Page 36 of the
Minutes—Liberty Party cross examination of Defendant First
Witness/Lami Lighe] Another question: "The document you testified to