By Jacqueline L. Dennis
The President Pro -Tempore of the Senate, Senator Albert Tugbe Chie, has called on all political parties and actors to avoid clashes and electoral violence.
Pro-Temp Chie made the statement Tuesday, August 22, 2023, during a special sitting of the Senate.
He said political campaigns have begun and some political parties are projecting the winning of the presidential election on the first ballot. “In my opinion, it is healthy in our democratic space for political parties to declare such aspirations and work towards it,” he noted.
The lawmakers cautioned those who have begun to insinuate that it is not possible under a free and fair election scheme to desist from making such utterances as they have the propensity to create post-election confusion.
He informed the public once again that the Liberian Senate will help ensure transparent, fair, free, and violent-free elections in October.
According to him, the agenda for these special sessions will consist of the following items, which should be completed in two weeks, the maximum time for which they have reconvened the continuation of the debate on the amended Public Health Law.
In a related development, he maintained that “It is important to stress that the new proposed Public Health Law contains the many contemporary issues important to health care delivery in our country other than the issue of abortion contained in the bill; most especially challenging experience and knowledge gained from the Ebola outbreak and the COVID pandemic the bill contains issues on bio-security and bio-safety, improvements occupation all health, provisions on foods and other products for infants and young children, a new chapter on traditional alternative medicines, a new provision for emergency treatment, and many others ” he noted.
He pointed out that there is no stand-alone bill on abortion before the Senate as it is being conceived in some quarters; but rather, there is a new chapter in the new public health bill on sexual and reproductive health, which addresses issues like sex education, family planning, and abortion.
For the record, Senator Chie stated that the bill came to Senate from the House of Representatives for their concurrence.
He lamented that the joint public hearings were conducted by the Committees on Health of both chambers before the House passed on it. At the Senate, several consultations and public hearings have been held and they have not arrived at a final version for the final approval of the Senate Plenary. The bill has been at the Legislature since February 2020 and is therefore not a new legislative instrument,” he disclosed.
However, he condemns the lies which are being propagated by people who
have little or no understanding of the various issues contained in the
proposed new Public Health Law and the transparent manner in which the debate has been proceeding at the Liberian Senate.He indicated that their principal agenda for this special session will include the following continuation of the confirmation process for nominated commissioners of the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission, Passage of the Free Tuition Act, and any other urgent matter of national interest, which will be sent to the legislature from the Executive or other matters originating from the Senate Floor, Briefing from the Ministry of Public Works on the mandate given by the Liberian Senate to have the two primary Southeastern Road corridors pliable within 30 days.
