The Supreme Court of Liberia has handed down its ruling in the election dispute case involving Maryland County Representative Bhofal Chamber and Anthony Williams, the man who was declared as the winner of the district’s election during the October 10 polls.

In its ruling Friday, January 12, 2024, the Supreme Court mandated the National Elections Commission to conduct a rerun of the October 10, 2023, representative election in two polling places—Precinct Code #27020 in Old Sodokan, District Number Two, Maryland County.

The court indicated during its ruling that the refusal of the National Elections Commission to have granted Chambers’ appeal for a rerun without taking into consideration allegations of acts of violence allegedly by some traditional leaders on Election Day was unfair.

Meanwhile, Chief Justice Sie-A-Nyene Gyapay has ordered the NEC to conduct the rerun under a straight security presence.

Additionally, the court instructed the Commission to set aside the results from other polling places, while the rerun is being conducted at the two polling places.

Chambers has represented Maryland District #2 since 2006, but his quest for a fourth six-year term has been politically resisted by Mr. Williams, a young former student leader.

Following the NEC’s announcement of poll results from the district, Chambers filed a complaint demanding a rerun of the election in some parts of his district, alleging ballot stuffing and interference by traditional leaders; but his complaints were denied by the electoral body.

As part of his allegations, Chambers’ lawyers claimed that their observers were chased out by the presence of a country devil, a traditional mask dancer used in most of Liberia’s rural areas by local leaders to exercise power.

The legal counsels for the complainant alleged that traditional chiefs brought out a country devil and took siege of ballot boxes at polling precinct #27020 in Old Sodoken, Maryland County among others.

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