By: Alphonso Abu Bonar
Monrovia-Jan-29-TNR: Former House Speaker and Representative of Pleebo Sodoken District, Dr. Bhofal Chambers has finally bowed and conceded defeat to Anthony Williams after nearly three months of legal battle at the National Elections Commission and the Supreme Court of Liberia.
Former Speaker Chambers contested the October 10, 2023 Presidential and Legislative Elections as number two amongst nine representative candidates who contested the election in District number #2, Maryland County. Bhofal lost to Anthony Williams as announced by the electoral body but took serious exception by taking the matter to the Election Magistrate in the county.
The NEC Magistrate ruled against Dr. Chambers but still not satisfied, the former Speaker complained to the Board of Commissioners of the NEC where he also lost the case. However, with the intervention of the Supreme Court of Liberia, a rerun in Old Sodoken was mandated by the high court that the NEC conduct a rerun which was granted by the NEC and scheduled for January 25, 2024, in Old Sodoken.
The rerun was conducted in two polling places. At polling place one, Dr. Chambers accumulated 73 votes while Anthony F. Williams accumulated 350 votes, and at polling place two, Dr. Chambers accumulated 47 votes while Anthony F. Williams accumulated 321 votes in total.
With the results from the rerun on January 25, 2024, Dr. Chambers on January 27, 2024, before the NEC declaration of the winner, conceded defeat and said it was clear and there was no need to move backward as a people, but added that it is important to move forward as a nation and people.
The former Speaker said to his supporters that all had not been lost and that he will stay with the people up to the end.
He told the citizens that democracy should have been the rule by the people, but added that sometimes in a democracy there can be contradictions. He said during the election there was rudeness, violence, and abuse on parents and elders which he said Pleebo District is not noted for.
At the same time, former Speaker Chambers has attributed his defeat to what he calls extended forces that fought him during the campaign period.
However, former Speaker Chambers added that it was now time that Liberians worked with the new administration in positive creation to better the lives of Liberians. He also used the occasion to promise the citizens of his District that he would maintain his scholarship funding across high schools, university including grants and loans to marketers.
Former Speaker Chambers became a member of the House of Representatives on January 16, 2006, and later ascended as Speaker of the 54th Legislature in 2018. However, the former lawmaker was sacked on January 25, 2024, by the people of Old Sodoken, Maryland County.
Edited January 28, 2024
