In Summary:
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Former officials of CDC Lofa County Chapter claimed the party increased its vote share in Lofa from 7% in 2017 to 37% in 2023 due to ‘strong grassroots mobilization and political education efforts’.
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A review of official NEC election results confirmed that the CDC received 7% of the presidential votes in the first round of the 2017 elections and 35.4% in the 2023 runoff.
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While the party’s support in the county increased significantly, the claim that it reached 37% in 2023 is incorrect.
Resigned officials of the Lofa County Chapter of the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) claimed that the party secured 7% of the total votes cast in Lofa County during the 2017 elections, adding that this figure increased to 37% in the 2023 elections.
The claim was made in a resignation statement read by the group’s secretary as they pledged support to the National Independent Movement for Boakai (NIMBO), a political movement established by Deputy House Speaker and Lofa County Lawmaker, Thomas Fallah.
According to the secretary, the increase in the CDC’s vote share was driven by the chapter’s “tireless grassroots mobilization, political education efforts, and deliberate cultivation of public trust”.
The Claim
An excerpt from the statement reads: “During the 2017 election, the CDC obtained a mere 7% of the total votes cast in Lofa County. However, through tireless grassroots mobilization, political education, and the deliberate cultivation of public trust, the party recorded an extraordinary lead of 37% of the total votes cast in Lofa County during the 2023 elections — a staggering increase of 30 percentage points.”
Rating Justification
To verify the claim, we reviewed the official 2017 and 2023 election results published by the National Elections Commission (NEC).
Our findings show that during the first round of the 2017 elections, the CDC obtained 7% of the votes cast in Lofa County, while the Unity Party (UP) secured 78%. In the runoff election, the CDC received 15.7% of the county’s votes, compared to the UP’s 84%.
In the 2023 elections, the CDC again obtained 27% of the votes in the county during the first round, while the Unity Party secured 56%. In the runoff election, the CDC received 35.4% of the votes cast in Lofa County, while the Unity Party obtained 64.6%.
Conclusion
Based on a review of the official election results, the claim by former officials of the CDC Lofa County Chapter is mostly correct.
While it is true that the CDC obtained 7% of the vote in the first round of the 2017 election in Lofa County, it did not obtain 37% in 2023.
The official results show that the party received 35.4% of the total votes in the county’s 2023 runoff election.
