MONROVIA – A Liberian legal practitioner and human rights activist residing in the United States of America, Cllr Lawrence Wah Jackson, wants Chapter 5A1 Liberia’s New Elections Act be amended.
That Act, which was approved on September 17,2014 amended certain provisions of the 1986 Elections Law.
The Chapter 5A1 provides that a political party or independent candidate shall be suspended if the candidate or candidates nominated in an election for the Presidency or seat in the legislature receives insufficient support in that thereby resulting into a none of the party’s candidates is elected and the total of all valid votes cast for the candidates nominated by the party is less than two percent of the total of all valid votes cast for all candidates in the constituencies.
According to Cllr. Jackson, such provisions may undermine the democratic rights guaranteed by the Constitution of Liberia and may have the practical effect of disenfranchising thousands of Liberian voters whose political preferences are represented by those candidates.
He said the 1986 Constitution of Liberia strongly protects democratic participation and political competition.
Article 1 of the Constitution provides:
“All power is inherent in the people. All free governments are instituted by their authority and for their benefit…”
This provision establishes that sovereignty belongs to the Liberian people and that governmental authority derives from their collective political choices.
Article 77(a) states: “Since the essence of democracy is free competition of ideas expressed by political parties and political groups as well as by individuals, parties may freely be established to advocate the political opinions of the people.”
This constitutional provision recognizes political competition as a fundamental feature of Liberia’s democratic system. Article 77(b) further provides: “All elections shall be by secret ballot … and every Liberian citizen not less than 18 years of age shall have the right to be registered as a voter and to vote in public elections and referenda under this Constitution.”
Article 80(c) provides: “Every Liberian citizen shall have the right to be registered in a constituency and to vote in public elections only in the constituency where registered…”
According to the human rights activist, in a democratic society, voters have the constitutional right to choose among competing candidates and political visions.
Restricting a candidate’s future eligibility solely because of previous electoral performance may substantially limit voter choice and weaken political pluralism.
Such restrictions may be viewed as inconsistent with Article 77’s guarantee of free political competition and the constitutional principle that political power belongs ultimately to the people.
Cllr. Jackson further warned that political exclusion has historically contributed to instability in many countries, including Liberia.
Numerous academic studies on the causes of Liberia’s civil conflicts have identified political marginalization, exclusion from governance, unequal access to political power, economic inequalities and weak democratic institutions among the factors contributing to national unrest.
The Liberian Constitution itself recognizes the importance of broad participation in governance. Article 5 directs the Republic to strengthen national integration and encourage all citizens to participate in government.
When significant segments of the population believe that their preferred candidates are being excluded through legal barriers rather than electoral competition, public confidence in democratic institutions may be weakened.
Cllr. Jackson, therefore, called on the Liberian Legislature to review and amend the provisions of the Elections Law and all other laws that have the tendency to disenfranchise Liberians or unnecessarily restrict political participation.
