While our people are in trauma,stress,hunger,dying daily,some guys are busy with power tussle. .simple greed has blinding our countrymen. .see the news: FRAUD CLAIMS DAMPEN LIBERIA MIDTERM ELECTION POSTPONEMENT Written by FPA Reporter Published: 17 October 2014 A joint Resolution of the House of Representatives and the Liberian Senate last week rejected President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf request for power to suspend midterm senatorial election due to the outbreak of Ebola. Instead the body mandated the National Election Commission to work with stakeholders and come out with a new date for the conduct of the election. On Thursday, the Executive surprisingly sent the resolution; already printed in Hand Bill dated October 13, suggesting that the legislature through a joint legislation endorsed and approved a proclamation issued by the President suspending the senatorial election. What changed in seven days? Accusations are flying amid concerns that the Executive aided by some members of the legislature changed the wordings in the legislation in a bid to win passage. Monrovia – The National Legislature has in the past come under criticisms from some of its members for their alleged role in aiding the Executive Branch of Government get sticky legislations passed at the Legislature by fraudulently altering the wordings of such legislation after leaving the Legislature. The final wordings agreed upon by lawmakers sometimes changed after being printed into handbill. President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf recently wrote the Legislature seeking approval for more power to amongst others restrict speech, movement and take other actions that would trample on the rights of Liberians in the name of fighting Ebola but the lawmakers mainly the House of Representatives vehemently rejected the President’s request. However, the request for the postponement of the senatorial midterm election which was not endorsed by the Legislature has now been printed into handbill with the Executive claiming that the instrument was endorsed by the body. A week ago, the a joint resolution by the Senate and House of Representatives overturn a Presidential request to cancel indefinitely, the scheduled Mid Term Senatorial elections. The joint resolution stated “Now, therefore, be it resolved, that the 53rd National Legislature through its special session during its extraordinary sitting mandates the National Elections Commission (NEC) to set a date in consultation with stakeholders for the conduct of the 2014 Mid Term Senatorial Elections not later than December 20, 2014”. Nearly a week after the joint resolution from the Legislature mandating NEC to work with stakeholders in setting a new date for the conduct of the senatorial election, another resolution again surfaced in which the wordings changed to ‘endorsing and approving’. Stated the new joint resolution “A joint resolution #002/2014 adopted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 53rd Legislature of the republic of Liberia endorsing and approving a proclamation issued by the President of the Republic of Liberia declaring the suspension of the election exercises of the senatorial election scheduled on October 14, 2014; and all the voting rights associated therewith and connected thereto”. Angry over the sudden change of the wordings of the joint resolution from mandating NEC to endorsing and approving the President proclamation, some lawmakers expressed their dismay over the trend of events leading to the alteration of the document. Some members of the House of Representatives are raising serious contention about the changes in the wordings of the joint resolution signed between the Liberian Senate and House of Representatives directing the National Elections Commission to hold consultation and conduct elections before the 20 of December 2014. According to some lawmakers their response to the President Communication to postpone election was never endorsed by the body as stated in the printed version from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The angry lawmakers are accusing the leadership of the Legislature of making changes in the communication. The revised communication from the foreign Ministry: “that immediately upon the adoption of this resolution #002/2014 the proclamation by the President of the Republic on October 4, 2014 declaring the suspension of al election exercises for the senatorial election of October 14, 2014 and all voting rights associated therewith and connected thereto, is hereby endorsed and approved.” Lawmakers, including Representatives James Biney, Acarous Gray and Gayah Karmoh expressed disappointment in their leadership and raising serious concern about the decision by the leadership, especially Speaker Tyler and Pro-Tem Gbezhongar Findley to change the decision of plenary. They argued that the word “endorsed” as used in the Foreign Ministry version of the resolution was never used and agreed upon and that decision by the leadership to place in the resolution “endorsed” clearly changes the content of their communication and their directives. Members of the National Legislature are heavily divided over political lines with some showing strong support for President Sirleaf and working to ensure that she has major legislations approved by the body. Citing reasons that necessitated the suspension of the October 14 Senatorial Elections, the Proclamation states: “As a consequence of the measures taken by the Government under the State of Emergency to contain the spread and eradicate the virus, the continued prevalence of the Virus, and other self-surviving measures taken by the people in restricting their travel and contacts, necessary for a free, open and transparent political atmosphere, the National Elections Commission, the Institution clothed with the authority to conduct elections in Liberia, has informed the Government that it has been unable to undertake several of the processes that are prerequisites to conducting the pending 2014 Senatorial Elections, including the deployment of staff in the field to conduct civil/voter education, the recruitment and deployment of the required polling staff at polling centers, the importation of basic, essential and sensitive electoral materials due to the suspension of flights to Liberia, the requisite campaigning by senatorial candidates and the monitoring of the process and activities by the NEC to ensure that there are no violations of the Elections Law and that violations are adequately addressed.” The President, on August 6, 2014 declared a State of Emergency throughout the Nation, which action was subsequently approved by the National Legislature as stipulated under Article 86 of the Constitution with the aim to combat the deadly virus affecting Liberia and its people and eradicate the virus from the Nation. “Under the Constitution and the mentioned Declaration of the State of Emergency, the President is vested with the power and clothed with the authority to suspend, during the period of the State of Emergency, any and all rights ordinarily exercised, enjoyed and guaranteed to citizens and residents of the Republic in normal periods, limited only by specific exceptions stipulated by the Constitution”, the Proclamation adds.
Posted on: Sat, 18 Oct 2014 00:12:29 +0000
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