IPNews-Monrovia, Liberia- 9 July 2018: Once again the constitutionality of holding the much anticipated ‘by elections for the vacant seats of Bong and Montserrado counties on July 31, 2018, as mandated by the national Legislature seems to be far from being held as two political parties have threaten to file a writ of prohibition to the honorable supreme court of Liberia.
According to the two political parties with solidarity of other leading political parties in the country under the banner ‘Inter-Party Consultative Committee’ (IPCC), stated that the pending by-elections are unconstitutional because they are being conducted not in keeping with the desire and authority of the Liberian people as mandated in Article 37 of the 1986 Constitution of Liberia.
The IPCC in a position statement the political parties including the Unity Party, Liberty Party, Alternative National Congress, Movement for Democratic Change, Movement for Economic Empowerment, Movement for Progressive Change, Liberia Transformation Party and All Liberia Party, among others, vowed to seek prohibition against the planned by-elections at the Supreme Court as to the unconstitutional authority of the legislature and President George Manneh Weah to set time frame for holding the July 31st 2018, scheduled by-elections or any other elections for that matter.
It may be recalled, National Elections Commission (NEC), on February 8, 2018, at a meeting with political parties heads stated that that it had received notice of two vacancies in the Liberian Senate for Montserrado and Bong Counties respectively.
Subsequently on March 8, 2018, the political parties noted that it said reported to NEC consistent with Article 37 of the constitution the issuant of writs of Elections instruction to election Magistrates in the two counties concern to conduct by-elections on May 8, 2018 and requiring report from the results accordingly.
The political parties further recalled that on March 12, 2018, NEC published the procedures for nomination of candidates to contest the by-elections but surprisingly, the parties noted that on May 8, 2018, the commission convened a special sitting of IPCC to inform them that it had not received sufficient funding to conduct the by-elections; and as such, the planned by elections could go ahead as required by Article 37 of the constitution.
“Upon hearing on May 25, 2018, through the local media reports that President George Manneh Weah had written the legislature to consider passage of a joint resolution to set a timeframe for the holding of the by-elections, members of the IPCC met in a special sitting to review the situation relating to holding of the elections outside a constitutional timeframe, and concluded that the failure of NEC to conduct the by-elections as required by Article 37 is evidence that Liberia had fallen out of compliance with the constitution,” the political parties noted.
The parties also said being fully aware that the authority given to the legislature as outlined in chapter V of the constitution does not include setting of election dates; they advised NEC not to “proceed with the conduct of the elections without reference to the people who in the exercise of their power and authority as affirmed in Article 1 of the constitution had, in Article 34 defined the limits of power of the legislature; and additionally, outside that limit, promulgated Article 37 setting the timeframe for holding of by-elections in Liberia.”
The political parties in the position statement said determined to remain committed to the intent and spirit of the Farmington Declaration of June 4, 2017, regarding the resolution of disputes arising from the electoral process, they wrote the president suggesting that to return the country to constitutional compliance, he as Head of State should convene a special consultative forum of leaders of duly recognized national stakeholder organizations and institutions for the sole purpose of setting a date on which the by-elections should be conducted.
They said for the avoidance of complications, in respect to the legitimacy and national status and credibility of participants to the special forum, they suggested that the current chairman and national secretary of all political parties, national civil society organizations, National Bar Association, among other major groupings and institutions in Liberia, as well as international organizations should form part of the forum.
“We advised the president that in convening the proposed national consultative forum and charging it to set a date on which the two by-elections should be held, he would be recognizing and observing the fundamental principles that ‘All power is inherent in the people…’ who had defined the limits of the power and authority of the government in chapters five, six, seven and Article 2 vis-a-vis that of the people as expressed in Article 1 of the constitution and he would at the same time, conferring upon the forum the status of a national conference where on its resolution would suffice as a sovereign decision of the people, in lieu of a national referendum which does not apply in this case,” the parties emphasized.
Surprisingly, the group said on June 27, 2018,NEC convened another meeting of the IPCC to inform them that the commission had received from the president joint resolution mandating that body to conduct the elections not later than July 31, 2018.
The political parties said they are convinced that the joint resolution in question represents a dress rehearsal to deliberately subvert the constitution as the true intent of majority members of the 54th legislature and the 24th president of Liberia.
They contended that the joint resolution by the legislature puts the entire constitution in jeopardy and renders its provisions none binding on those in government and has vowed to seek legal remedy to ensure that the government respects the constitution.
