Friends,
It now appears that there is a serious disagreement among the justices of the Supreme Court of Liberia as to the interpretation of the famous residency clause for presidential candidates. At last Tuesday's hearing, I was informed that one of the justices showed the open court what is called the legislative rationale for Article 52 ( C) of the Liberian Constitution. I was informed that this justice who displayed the legislative rationale told the open court that candidate for president of Liberia must have resided in the country 10 years immediately prior to his/her election, directly quoting the legislative rationale. This means President Sirleaf and others are not qualified. However, I was told that the Chief Justice immediately countered that the document displayed by his colleague (justice) was not signed. Hmmm, document not signed? Is there a credibility issue here? Whatever the case, it now appears that there is a clear disagreement among the justices about their decision. The ruling was expected last Tuesday but that did not happen. The ruling was expected Wednesday that too did not happen. Then came Thursday and there was no ruling. We anxiously awaited the ruling on Friday but Friday came and past without ruling. The justices say they are still deliberating. Deliberating? I am told many of the political heavyweights in Liberia and the Elections Commission have become concerned about this delay. Clearly, our petition has very strong constitutional and legal ground and this is why the justices are finding it extremely difficult to dismiss it.But in the end, political consideration may be the rallying point. This too, we are aware. After all, this is Liberia. Please read the VOA article below.
AB Massaley
Less than two weeks before election day, Liberia's Supreme Court says it is still considering the eligibility of the leading presidential candidates, including incumbent Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf.
The challenge to candidates' eligibility comes from Liberia's Movement for Progressive Change party and is based on the constitutional requirement that candidates be a resident in the country for 10 years prior to a vote.
That requirement was waived in the last election because the vote so closely followed the end of Liberia's long civil war. But a constitutional referendum to reduce the requirement for this vote failed, so the party is asking the Supreme Court to declare ineligible six of the 16 candidates including President Johnson and her main challenger, Winston Tubman.
The Court was initially expected to rule on the challenge Tuesday, then pushed that back to Thursday, then issued a statement saying that justices are still deliberating.
Even though there are less two weeks to go before election day, voter Tamba Taylor says Liberia's constitution should not be taken for granted.
"We need to give the court a chance to come up with a decision on this. Liberians always love to overlook things. But I think the court must come up with a decision. If the election will be postponed, let it be. But we must give the court a chance to take a stance on it," he said.
Voter Wieh Bedell says there could be violence if so many of the leading opposition candidates are disqualified.
"The serious contenders that have the largest population of voting, they will not be taking part in the process," said Bedell. "The serious opposition party, which is the Congress of Democratic Change, to even tell them in a split second that you are not qualified, I believe it will cause a lot of chaos in this country."
Paye Martin is a member of Winston Tubman's Congress of Democratic Change. Even though the challenge affects his party's candidate, Martin says there is no reason to bypass the constitution.
"Let the constitution stand and let us move ahead instead of compromising what is in the constitution. Even though it affects some people who we support, we admire, but that shouldn't be the case. I think the national interest is paramount in this case. Whether it be against whosoever, letting the interest of the country be protected should be considered number one," said Martin.
Youth leader Moses Zang says the court should put the need for a peaceful vote above upholding the residency requirement.
"It will bring tensions in this country, so I prefer for them to put [the residency requirement] aside. So for that reason, for peace's sake, they should let them go," he said.
If all six of the candidates in question are disqualified, the strongest challengers among the remaining ten candidates are long-time politician and human rights activist Togba-Nah Tipoteh and the former rebel leader Prince Johnson
Everyone is a genius
Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid. – A Einstein
Drawing the line in Liberia
Crimes sponsored, committed, or masterminded by handful of individuals cannot be blamed upon an entire nationality. In this case, Liberians! The need for post-war justice is a step toward lasting peace, stability and prosperity for Liberia. Liberia needs a war crimes tribunal or some credible legal forum that is capable of dealing with atrocities perpetrated against defenseless men, women and children during the country's brutal war. Without justice, peace shall remain elusive and investment in Liberia will not produce the intended results. - Bernard Gbayee Goah
Men with unhealthy characters should not champion any noble cause
They pretend to advocate the cause of the people when their deeds in the dark mirror nothing else but EVIL!!
When evil and corrupt men try to champion a cause that is so noble … such cause, how noble it may be, becomes meaningless in the eyes of the people - Bernard Gbayee Goah.
If Liberia must move forward ...
If Liberia must move forward in order to claim its place as a civilized nation amongst world community of nations, come 2017 elections, Liberians must critically review the events of the past with honesty and objectivity. They must make a new commitment to seek lasting solutions. The track records of those who are presenting themselves as candidates for the position of "President of the Republic of Liberia" must be well examined. Liberians must be fair to themselves because results from the 2011 elections will determine the future of Liberia’s unborn generations to come - Bernard Gbayee Goah
What do I think should be done?
The situation in Liberia is Compound Complex and cannot be fixed unless the entire system of government is reinvented.
Liberia needs a workable but uncompromising system that will make the country an asylum free from abuse, and other forms of corruption.
Any attempt to institute the system mentioned above in the absence of rule of law is meaningless, and more detrimental to Liberia as a whole - Bernard Gbayee Goah
Liberia's Natural Resources
Besides land water and few other resources, most of Liberia’s dependable natural resources are not infinite, they are finite and therefore can be depleted.
Liberia’s gold, diamond, and other natural resources will not always be an available source of revenue generation for its people and its government. The need to invent a system in government that focuses on an alternative income generation method cannot be over emphasized at this point - Bernard Gbayee Goah
Liberia needs a proper system
If Liberians refuse to erect a proper system in place that promotes the minimization of corruption and mismanagement of public funds by government institutions, and individuals, there will come a time when the value of the entire country will be seen as a large valueless land suited on the west coast of Africa with some polluted bodies of waters and nothing else. To have no system in place in any country is to have no respect for rule of law. To have no respect for rule of law is to believe in lawlessness. And where there is lawlessness, there is always corruption - Bernard Gbayee Goah
Solving problems in the absence of war talks
As political instability continues to increase in Africa, it has become abundantly clear that military intervention as a primary remedy to peace is not a durable solution. Such intervention only increases insecurity and massive economic hardship. An existing example which could be a valuable lesson for Liberia is Great Britain, and the US war on terror for the purpose of global security. The use of arms whether in peace keeping, occupation, or invasion as a primary means of solving problem has yield only little results. Military intervention by any country as the only solution to problem solving will result into massive military spending, economic hardship, more fear, and animosity as well as increase insecurity. The alternative is learning how to solve problems in the absence of war talks. The objective of such alternative must be to provide real sustainable human security which cannot be achieved through military arm intervention, or aggression. In order to achieve results that will make the peaceful coexistence of all mankind possible, there must be a common ground for the stories of all sides to be heard. I believe there are always three sides to every story: Their side of the story, Our side of the story, and The truth – Bernard Gbayee Goah
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