Members of the Press Union of Liberia (PUL) have elected a new leadership, amid a huge controversy that characterized the election.

Late on Saturday, November 19, members of the PUL lined up in a queue up in Gbarnga, to vote for their new leaders- President, Vice President, Secretary and Assistant Secretary, after a write of prohibition placed on the process on Friday was lifted by Judge Boima Kontoe, of the 9th Judicial Circuit court in Gbarnga.

Prior to the kickoff of the press union’s elective congress on Thursday, the presidential campaign team of contender Julius Kullie Kanubah had demanded a clean-up of the Union’s membership listing, which constituted the final voter roll.

The team had raised concerns about the qualifications of some members on the membership listing and requested a review; and because Kanubah was convinced that the listing remained inadequate, he called for a boycott of the proceedings in Gbarnga until his team’s demands were met. The team prayed to the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court for a writ of injunction which was served on the current leadership of the PUL.

However, the writ was later lifted, a motion to vacate the injunction was filed along with an indemnity bond.

“By the order of his honor J. Boima Kontoe, resident Circuit Judge, you’re hereby commanded to inform petitioners that the writ of injunction issued on November 18, 2022, against the administration of the Press Union of Liberia and the election commissioners of said union headed by Charles B. Coffey, Atty. Ade Wede Kerkulah, Fabine Kwiah, Eddie Harmon, Cllr. Bobby Livingstone, Atty. AL Varney Rogers, Musa M.B. Kanneh, Daniel Nyakonah, Caroline Myers Zoduah, Henry Page all the of Monrovia is hereby ordered revoked and vacated with immediate effect,” the court order read.

After the injunction was vacated by the court, voting was opened at 19:30 and continued up to 03:30, on Sunday morning.

At the close of the polls, the chairperson of the congress sub-committee on elections and inauguration, Ade Wede Kekuleh announced the results.

She said total number of votes obtained for the presidential race was 350 and, of that number, Daniel Nyakonah received 333 votes, while Julius Kullie Kanubah obtained 15 votes. Total invalid votes were 2. For the position of Vice president, Betty Johnson-Mbayo also defeated Beatrice Sieh with 311 to 21 votes, while Akoi Baysah and Julius Konton won on white ballot as Secretary and Assistant Secretary, respectively,

She termed the electoral process as legitimate and credible, with the presence of several civil society actors in elections including the National Elections Commission (NEC) and candidates’ representatives.

Atty. Kerkulah lauded the membership of the Press Union for exercising their franchise and following the process to the end. She further applauded the congressional committee headed by Caroline Myers-Zoduah.

Meanwhile, the PUL leadership has thanked the membership of the union for being law abiding and participating in the election.

“On behalf of the president-elect, as well as the entire campaign team for Team Daniel-Bettie, we would like to thank everyone for their amazing support, love, and dedication to the Press Union of Liberia. We are particularly appreciative that you have chosen our entire team as the new generation of PUL leaders for the next three years,” the elected officials stated in a release.

Members of the leadership-elect also lauded their opponents for their participation and consistently engaging throughout in the process.

“Now that the processes are concluded and the winning team has been announced, we would like to extend to you our open arms and olive branch so that we may all work together for the benefit of the PUL. Be confident that our administration’s leadership will be receptive to your comments and will encourage your active participation,” the release noted.

“Again, we congratulate everyone who participated and voted for our team. Even to those who supported but did not vote, we extend our gratitude. The Press Union of Liberia is of paramount importance and must be appreciated by everybody.”