PAYNESVILLE, Montserrado – The 2018 Liberia Football Association elections have taken a dramatic twist after being put on hold by the judicial system of Liberia.

The elections, which were held on Saturday, April 14 at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex, were expected to bring in the new leadership that will take over Musa Hassan Bility’s administration which has ruled football for the past eight years.

An injunction was placed on the elections immediately after the counting of the presidential ballot which LISCR FC’s president, Mustapha Raji, won by 16 votes. The LISCR FC boss topped his opponent, Musa Shannon, with three votes and eleven votes more than former Congress for Democratic Change chairman, George Solo. None of the candidates were able to obtain the 18 or more votes required by the statute of the Liberia Football Association as the presidential race reached a runoff stage.

While the process was ongoing, presidential candidate George Solo filed a writ of injunction on the elections on grounds that his opposition, Raji, does not have a bachelor’s degree, which is a requirement of the election guidelines. The decision means that the previous processes were nullified until the legal proceeding can be done.

Prior to the injunction from the court, nine executive committee members, the vice president for operations, and the vice president of administration had been elected.

The new executive committee will consist of Keitrace FC president, Beatrice Kpoto; the founder and CEO of Cece United Football Academy, Pawala Janyan; Quiwu Pepci Yeke; Kerrie Miller; Joseph Kollie; Nyemah Nyanway; the former Sports Writers Association of Liberia president, Henry Flomo; and Kelvin Batoh.

For the vice president for operations category, the vice president of the Small Town Football Club, Wilmot Smith, finished on top with 18 votes.

BYC I president, Sekou Konneh, will replace presidential candidate Musa Shannon as vice president for administration.

Meanwhile, the Liberia Football Association has assured stakeholders that it would do everything possible to have the electoral process completed. On the other hand, Shannon, the candidate for president, has issued a press release urging the LFA’s Election Appeal Committee to investigate the eligibility of his rival, Raji.

“We think that a timely determination into official complaints filed to the Election Appeal Committee is in the best interest of Liberian Football, and enhances the forward match of a new dispensation of Liberia’s football development,” he said.

Featured photo by T. Kla Wesley Jr.