GANTA, Nimba—With all voting precincts reporting results, the National Elections Commission has officially declared Nya D. Twayen the winner of the senatorial by-election held on Tuesday in Nimba.
Final results released by the National Elections Commission on Friday, April 26 showed that Twayen won 59 percent of the votes (67,138), beating his closest competitor, Rep. Samuel Kogar of Nimba’s fifth district, by more than 22 percent. Former senator of Nimba, Thomas Grupee, placed third with 3.25 percent of the votes, followed by Armstrong Selekpoh with 1.1 percent.
The by-election was triggered after former senator and now Vice President Jeremiah Koung was elected along with Pres. Joseph Boakai in the 2023 elections. Twayen had previously run for the senatorial post in the 2023 elections as an independent candidate. In that contest, he came second to Sen. Prince Johnson. Ahead of the 2024 senatorial by-election, Twayen joined the Unity Party ticket and secured the endorsement of Vice President Koung and Sen. Johnson, the two most powerful politicians from Nimba.
However, Johnson, chairman of the Governing Council of the Movement for Democracy and Reconstruction, diverted his support to Twayen’s competition, Rep. Kogar, less than two weeks before the polls. Johnson made the decision despite his party’s collaboration with Unity Party in the 2023 general elections in which the party’s standard bearer, Koung, was elected vice president.
Johnson accused the Unity Party government of supporting the establishment of war and economic crimes courts in Liberia as a means of targeting him. The court, when established, will try individuals like Johnson who are accused of bearing the greatest responsibility for Liberia’s civil war, in which an estimated 250,000 lives were lost.
Despite Johnson’s late opposition to Twayen’s candidacy, the Nimba senator offered his congratulations when it became clear that Twayen would win the seat. On Thursday, a day after the NEC released the first preliminary results, Sen. Johnson took to his Facebook page to congratulate the unofficial winner of Tuesday’s senatorial by-election.
“Congratulations, Senator Nya D Twayen Jr.; welcome aboard, my son. The task ahead is significant. Nimba has elected you to join me as the operational Senator,” he wrote. Given your respectful and organized nature, I believe that together, we can enhance Nimba’s progress.”
He called on the citizens of Nimba “to refrain from spreading tribal messages,” noting that doing so could derail the county’s progress.
“Let’s prioritize peace, love, and unity in Nimba and throughout Liberia. I pledge my full support in working with our new Senator. Together, success is assured,” he added.
On the same day Johnson congratulated him, Twayen also expressed his gratitude for the victory.
“It’s a humbling moment for me, and my first priority is to work with everyone to reconcile and unite the people of Nimba,” he said. “The way Nimbaians voted sent a clear message that the ugly face of tribal politics is becoming a thing of the past; this new beginning should break ground for new thinking and new ways of doing things to improve the lives of our people.”
According to Twayen’s LinkedIn page, he previously served as deputy director general at NASSCORP before entering politics. In anticipation of his entrance, he formed the Nya D. Twayen Foundation to implement projects across Nimba.
Twayen graduated with a bachelor’s in Sociology from the University of Liberia in 2007 and a master’s in public policy from the Australian National University in 2012, according to his LinkedIn profile. He was also appointed in 2008 by former president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as assistant minister for youth services at the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
Featured photo courtesy of the campaign of Nya D. Twayen
