-For Lack of Procedures
By R Joyclyn Wea
A resident on Tuesday, July 31, 2018 prevented the National Elections Commission (NEC) from conducting the Montserrado County by-elections for allegedly intruding on their property.
The building which is located on the Old Road allegedly belongs to the late Anthony Cephus who grandson is now in charge of said property.
This paper on Tuesday witnessed NEC workers being prevented from using the building by a man identified as T. Melvin Cephus believed to be the grandson and caretaker of said property due to what he (Cephus) terms as ‘intrusion’.
According to Cephus, his decision is as a result of alleged refusal by the commission to negotiate with them (property owners) despite continuous engagements.
He explained that there was no agreement or understanding entered into with the NEC as the commission has used the building on many occasions without any negotiation or prior notice.
“They did not do voter registration here; I told them if you want to use this place for that purpose, you should follow the proper procedure which they failed to do up to date,” he said.
Cephus asserted that it is not about money, but rather following rightful procedure, noting “this is the third time NEC is occupying the building as such we want to set precedent.”
He describes the action by the NEC as ‘irresponsible’ adding “responsibility is knowing what you are to do and doing it.”
“They will always come here election morning to conduct elections without informing anybody, when we talk they will beg us, but today I’m setting precedent by locking the place they will not use this area.”
“If you want to use somebody property, it is good enough to inform the person and not about money; serve the person letter not because you are government entity so you should come and intrude on people property,” he added.
He indicated that it is a private property and not a government property, therefore in as much as they respect the government it should in returned respect them.
Cephus explained that other people failed to write the wrongs due to fear not to being considered as enemy of government noting “we want the right thing to be done.”
Meanwhile, when contacted, the Communications Director of the National Elections Commission, Henry Boye Flomo said the matter was resolved and those eligible to vote in center voted with ease.
Comments are closed.