GANTA – The National Elections Commission (NEC) has disqualified popular aspirant Justin Oldpa Yeazehn, popularly known as ‘Prophet Key,’ from contesting the Nimba County Senatorial by-election slated for April 22 this year.
Yeazehn was disqualified, according to the National Elections Commission, for submitting a fraudulent Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) ID Card number during the documents vetting process.
The act, according to NEC, is a violation, thus disqualifying him (Prophet Key) from contesting the Nimba County by-election.
The issue surrounding Prophet Key’s fake BVR number came to the limelight when a youth stalwart of the ruling Unity Party, Printiss Domah, accused him of presenting a fake and invalid BVR Number to the commission.
Following the accusation, one of Liberia’s leading fact-checking organizations, Local Voices Liberia, conducted a fact-check to verify the validity of the BVR number presented to NEC by aspirant Yeazehn. Findings from the LVL confirmed that the BVR Number: 03604913266 was invalid and incorrect.
Further investigations conducted by The Liberian Investigator also confirmed that the aspirant presented a fake number in a dubious attempt to secure a candidacy in the Nimba County by-election.
The investigation revealed that despite being aware that the number presented was fake, aspirant Yeazehn went on to affix his signature on the preliminary certificate issued to him by NEC, affirming that all information on the form was “correct” and “satisfactory.”
On the form signed on March 11, Yeazehn also presented a foreign telephone number, +212600464707, instead of a local Liberian telephone number, making it difficult for the commission to contact him during the electoral period.
The form contained a statement of affirmation requiring all aspirants to ensure that the information provided is true, correct, and satisfactory to the commission.
Although no specific legal provision outlines penalties for deceiving the commission, the Liberian Penal Law (Chapter 26) equates such actions to lying under oath. Lying under oath is classified as a first-degree misdemeanor in Liberia.
Responding to the commission’s decision, aspirant Yeazehn took to his Facebook page, accusing NEC of intentionally withholding the rejection letter from his email, claiming it was a deliberate attempt to deny him the opportunity to respond within the stipulated 48 hours.
He did not specify the medium through which the letter was sent but alleged that the commission’s decision was intended to bar him from contesting the election.
“NEC sent me a rejection letter but failed to send it to my email, knowing fully well I had 48 hours to respond.”
Yeazehn further accused the commission of refusing to provide a signed copy of the rejection letter to his representative while he was away from Monrovia. He claimed that NEC Co-chairperson Cllr. P. Teplah Reeves declined to sign the document, indicating internal disagreement within the commission over the decision to disqualify him.
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