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2024 Liberian by-elections

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The 2024 Liberian by-elections were held on April 23, 2024. The by-elections were the result of two vacancies: one in the Senate in Nimba County, the other in the House of Representatives, in Grand Gedeh County's 1st district.

Background

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The National Elections Commission (NEC) were notified of the vacancies in the legislature in early February. On February 1, the Senate notified the NEC of a vacancy due to the ascendancy of Nimba County Senator Jeremiah Koung to the vice presidency in the 2023 election. On February 2, the House notified the NEC of a vacancy due to the death of Grand Gedeh County Representative Erol Madison Gwion in December, shortly after the 2023 election.[1] Gwion's death was the first death of the 55th Legislature.[2] By February 14, the NEC had announced the date for the by-elections to be April 23.[3]

Nimba County Senator Prince Johnson, founder of the Movement for Democracy and Reconstruction (MDR), had been building influence in the county since 2005, and his endorsements had a notable impact on its elections prior to 2024. In the 2023 presidential election, Johnson had aligned himself with Unity Party (UP) nominee Joseph Boakai, creating an alliance between the UP and the MDR. Koung's selection as Boakai's running mate was a part of this alliance. Koung was a member of the MDR who had been supported by Johnson throughout his political career. However, following Boakai's victory in the 2023 election, there had been a falling out between Senator Johnson and the Boakai administration. Johnson, a warlord in the First Liberian Civil War, was dissatisfied with Boakai's stance in favor of establishing a war crimes court.[4]

As early as March, it was reported Senator Johnson was seeking to endorse a candidate opposed to the UP in the 2024 Senate election. The UP's candidate for the Nimba County Senate race was Nya D. Twayen Jr. Johnson initially wanted to support Mark Gblinwon, former Nimba County inspector, in the Senate race. He rejected the idea of endorsing Samuel G. Kogar. Early in Kogar's political, he was allied with Johnson, but the relationship between the two had deteriorated since then.[4] In March, Senator Johnson had a meeting, first with Twayen and then with Kogar. In both meeting he was vetting potential endorsements. He supported Kogar's stance against the establishment of a war crime court.[5] Johnson would end up endorsing Kogar. Vice President Koung would break from Senator Johnson with his endorsement of Twayen.[6]

Campaigning for the election had begun on April 4. The Senate race had four candidates, the House race had 15.[7] Candidates for the Senate race included Twayen with the UP and Kogar with the People's Unification Party. The other candidates were former senator Thomas Grupee with the Reformers National Congress and Armstrong Gobac Selekpoh with the Liberia National Union, a young critic of Johnson who enjoyed grassroots support.[8][9] Candidates in Nimba County were noted to focus their campaigns on the interior of the county.[10] Candidates in the House race included the late Rep. Gwion's son, Moniayoung Jerry Gwion, as well as the representative's widow, Amelia P. Beh.[11][12] Campaigning ended on April 20.[13]

Aftermath

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The 2024 by-elections were noted for their low turnout. The tally process began on April 24.[1] In the first preliminary results released by the NEC, Twayen was in the lead, with Kogar in second place.[14] On April 29, the NEC announced Twayen as the winner of the Senate race and independent Jeremiah Garwo Sokan Sr. as winner of the House race.[15]

Twayen's victory was seen as an upset due to its defiance of Johnson's endorsement, but also due to racial factors. Twayen is a member of the Mano ethnicity, while Johnson and Kogar are Dan. There had been a number of upsets in Dan regions of Nimba County, with them supporting Twayen over Kogar.[4] William Q. Harmon of the Liberian Observer suggested that the Senate election could signify a "potential shift in political dynamics in Nimba County and suggests a diminishing hold of power by Senator Johnson."[16]

Twayen and Sokan were certified as winners of the elections by the NEC on May 6.[17]

Results

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The following are the results for the 2024 by-elections from the NEC.[18][19]

2024 Nimba County Senatorial By-election
Party Candidate Votes %
UP Nya D. Twayen Jr. 67,138 59.27%
PUP Samuel G. Kogar 41,196 36.37%
RNC Thomas S. Grupee 3,685 3.25%
LINU Armstrong Gobac Selekpoh 1,250 1.1%
Total votes 113,269 100.0
Rejected ballots 2,166
UP gain from MDR
2024 Grand Gedeh County's 1st House of Representatives District By-election
Party Candidate Votes %
Independent Jeremiah Garwo Sokan Sr. 3,168 30.74%
PUP Amelia Polodee Beh 1,371 13.3%
NDP Ansu Dukuly 1,183 11.48%
ALL Sampson B. Williams 757 7.34%
RNC Nathaniel Chen Gbaba 617 5.99%
ALSOP Elijah Poneyon Dorbor 476 4.62%
LRP Isaac Nyaneyon Kanneh 452 4.39%
DNA Moniayoung Jerry Gwion 443 4.3%
LPP Gabriel Papee Johnson 433 4.2%
VOLT Cyrus S. Cooper II 424 4.11%
UP Camille V. Charafeddine 389 3.77%
NLP Justice Randall Clarke 219 2.12%
EFFL Jeziah M. Quiyea 138 1.34%
LTP Watchen Ophelia Boley 137 1.33%
LINU Roosevelt Johnson Jr. 100 0.97%
Total votes 10,307 100.0
Rejected ballots 229
Independent gain from CDC

References

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  1. ^ a b "UP Candidate Nya leads polls in Nimba". The New Dawn Libria. April 25, 2024. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  2. ^ "Liberia: 55th Legislature Records 1st Death". Liberian Observer. December 5, 2023. Archived from the original on February 21, 2024. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  3. ^ "Liberia: NEC Announces Date for Nimba, G. Gedeh Counties' By-elections". Liberian Observer. February 14, 2024. Archived from the original on February 14, 2024. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c Dodoo, Lennart; Lomax, Selma (March 19, 2024). "Liberia: Disappointed Prince Johnson Begins Plot against Unity Party Signaling An Early Fallout with the Regime". FrontPage Africa. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  5. ^ Karmo, Henry (March 21, 2024). "Liberia: Senator Prince Johnson's Flip-Flop in Nimba County By-election Endorsement". FrontPage Africa. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  6. ^ Lomax, Selma; Doloquee, Franklin (April 24, 2024). "Liberia: VP Koung Fails to Turn Out to Vote in Nimba Senatorial By-Election amid Concerns over Who He Supports in the High Stakes Election". FrontPage Africa. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  7. ^ "Campaigns for Bye Elections in G' Gedeh and Nimba Kick Off -As NEC clears 19 candidates". The Analyst. April 5, 2024. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  8. ^ "Liberia's 2024 Legislative By-elections in Nimba and Grand Gedeh Counties: Assessing the Races and the Racers". Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa. April 23, 2024. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  9. ^ Lomax, Selma; Doloquee, Franklin (April 4, 2024). "Liberia: Nimba County Senatorial Election Poses Political Crossroads Amidst Incumbency, Tribal Dynamics, and Influential Endorsements". FrontPage Africa. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  10. ^ Menkor, Ishmael F. (April 17, 2024). "Nimba Senatorial By-Election Lacks Momentum". Liberian Observer. Archived from the original on April 18, 2024. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  11. ^ Peters, Lincoln G. (April 23, 2024). "Liberia: Family Battle for Grand Gedeh Representative Seat". The New Dawn Liberia. AllAfrica. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  12. ^ Swaray, Sallu K. (April 26, 2024). "NEC To Declare Twayen, Sokan winners Today -As Final Announcement of result imminent". The Analyst. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  13. ^ "Nimba, Grand Gedeh by-elections campaigns end". The New Dawn Liberia. April 22, 2024. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  14. ^ Clayeh, J. H. Webster (April 25, 2024). "Early Results: UP's Nya Twayen Takes the Lead, Independent Candidate Jeremiah Ahead in Grand Gedeh District 1 By-Election". FrontPage Africa. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  15. ^ Hoffman, Naneka A. (April 29, 2024). "NEC declares Twayen, Sokan winners of by-elections". The New Dawn Liberia. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  16. ^ Harmon, William Q. (April 26, 2024). "Liberia: Nya Twayen Is Nimba's Senator-Elect". Liberian Observer. Archived from the original on April 26, 2024. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  17. ^ Hoffman, Naneka A. (May 7, 2024). "NEC certificates winners of April 23 By-elections". The New Dawn Libria. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  18. ^ "2024 SENATORIAL BY-ELECTION RESULTS". National Elections Commission. 2024. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
  19. ^ "2024 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES BY-ELECTIONS RESULTS". National Elections Commission. 2024. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
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