-Says Citizen Must be given Right to Remove Underperforming Lawmaker
IPNEWS: Montserrado county district No. 8 Representative hopeful, Joseph Biye Cooper is calling for the revision and repealing of Article 43, of the Liberian constitution to grant power to constituents to remove their underperforming lawmakers.
Cooper stated that it is time the government of President George Manneh Weah’s in furtherance of his Pro-Poor Agenda for prosperity and Develop intended to gives power to the people must consider repealing Article 43, that contradicts the fundamental rights of legible constituents in checkmating their own representative and Senators they elected.
Article 43 of the Liberian Constitution states: “The power to prepare a bill of impeachment is vested solely in the House of Representatives, and the power to try all impeachments is vested solely in the Senate. When the President, Vice President or an Associate Justice is to be tried, the Chief Justice shall preside; when the Chief Justice or a judge of a subordinate court of record is to be tried, the President of the Senate shall preside. No person shall be impeached but by the concurrence of two-thirds of the total membership of the Senate. Judgements in such cases shall not extend beyond removal from office and disqualification to hold public office in the Republic; but the party may be tried at law for the same offense. The Legislature shall prescribe the procedure for impeachment proceedings which shall be in conformity with the requirements of due process of law.”
The drift bill titled: “Community Participation, a national Decision making”, according to Representative hopeful Joseph Boye Cooper, is in confirmative with the Liberian constitution Article 1 which grantees the right of all citizens in the decision making process of the Country.
Cooper stated that his call is premised on the continuous underperformance of lawmakers over two decades now.
Article 1 of the Liberian constitution states: All power is inherent in the people. All free governments are instituted by their authority and for their benefit and they have the right to alter and reform the same when their safety and happiness so require. In order to ensure democratic government which
responds to the wishes of the governed, the people shall have the right at such period, and in such manner as provided for under this Constitution, to cause their public servants to leave office and to fill vacancies by regular elections and appointments.”
responds to the wishes of the governed, the people shall have the right at such period, and in such manner as provided for under this Constitution, to cause their public servants to leave office and to fill vacancies by regular elections and appointments.”
He said that the continue hardship of Liberians cannot only attributed the President George Manneh Weah but squarely at the feet of underperforming lawmakers who have refused to live up to the trust and confidence reposed in them by their various constituents.
Cooper cited recent concurrence by lawmakers that it granted Finance and Development Minister, Samuel D. Tweah the right to used 25 million of the Road Fund even though there’s no record of the plenary to substantiate the decision.
” So we are calling for the amendment of Article 42 to state: “A Lawmaker may be impeace for cause or underrepresentation 60% of legible constituents in a petition to the Liberian Senate guarded by due process.”
The District No. 8 Representative hopeful told IPNEWS that plans are well underway to scale up the debate across the country, including consultation with the Liberian Bar Association, Press Union of Liberia, the Marketing Association, political parties, Civil society organizations, among others.
Joseph Boye Cooper, is graduate of the Cuttington University, with a Master in Public Health.
Cooper is a Community Engagement Specialist and has implemented several community monitoring on adolescents, young adults, men who have sex with men (MSM), sex on EVD survivors and their close contacts, as well as the malaria, Lassa Fever, COVID pandemic globally; developing, implementing,and evaluating stigma reduction.
He also co-author behavioral-driven articles on EVD stigma reduction and community empirical efforts in participating in biomedical and social science research during a engagement strategies on the ongoing biomedical research protocols on EVD virus Vaccines and Infectious Diseases in Liberia (PREVAIL)as well as a response
intervention EVD survivors in the health sector of Liberia; performing both community workers and minority populations domestically, among others.
