The Supreme Court of Liberia has reserved ruling into the Constitution violation case filed by the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) against the National Elections Commission (NEC), as the court probes into the Constitutionality of the on-going biometric voter registration process, which is being contended by CPP.
During the case argument on Tuesday, April 4, before the Full Bench, CPP legal team, headed by Cllr. Aloysius Toe, said NEC is violating the Constitution by conducting biometric voter registration, after the conduct of a Census, without Constitutionally demarcating constituencies into which a voter is to be registered.
Cllr. Toe argued that Article 80 (c), of the Constitution states that all Liberian citizens shall have the right to register in a constituency.
He noted, “In keeping with Article 80 (c), ‘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…’”
Article (d) of the 1986 constitution also provides that a constituency “shall have an approximately equal population of 20,000, or such number of citizens as the Legislature shall prescribe in keeping with population growth and movements as revealed by a national census; provided that the total number of electoral constituencies in the Republic shall not exceed one hundred.”
Article (e) of the Constitution provides that “immediately following a national census and before the next elections, the Elections Commission shall reapportion the constituencies by the new population figures so that every constituency shall have as close to the same population as possible; provided, however, that a constituency must be solely within a county”.
CPP maintained that NEC has violated these three provisions of the 1986 Constitution.
“Despite various public objections over the un-Constitutional delays to conduct the census, and concerns around the integrity of the results, according to the Liberian Government the census has been conducted,” Cllr. Toe noted.
He added, “Although final results have not been announced, preliminary results, which were publicly announced, show changes in the growth and movements of the population. In some cases, the changes in population defy historical trends and represent massive and significant shifts in the growth and movements of the population.
“The Constitutional duty of the NEC is to proceed as the Constitution directs, and from which it has no authority to deviate. The CPP believes that to do otherwise is to violate the Constitution and thereby risk the Constitutional integrity of the up-coming elections.”
According to CPP, their arguments are not seeking the intervention of the court to delay the elections, but rather they are calling for straight adherence to the Constitution.
However, the Respondent, National Elections Commission (NEC), requested the court to dismiss CPP’s petition because they believe it lacks legal substance.
NEC further argued that the Constitutional doctrine of “separation of power”, as found in Chapter 1, Article 3 of the 1986 Constitution, states that the “National Elections Commission and the Executive Branch of Liberia, Respondents herein, do not have the legal authority to command or compel the legislative Branch to carry out and perform its functions outlined in the Constitution.
“CPP (Petitioners) argued that the census results have been submitted to the Legislature by LISGIS, and it is up to the Legislature to set the new threshold by which NEC (Respondent) would then be able to demarcate new constituencies,” the respondent said.
The Respondent further stated that Article 80 (c) of the Constitution requires every Liberian citizen to register and vote in a constituency, and further because the country is currently divided into seventy (73) electoral constituencies Respondent (NEC) is legally justified to register eligible voters in one of those seventy-three (73) constituencies, even if the Constitutional prerequisites and preconditions are not met.
The respondents further relied on Chapter 4 Section 4.1(3) of the New Election Law of 1986, which provides that “no change in the definition of a constituency or a voting precinct shall apply to an Election if the Election day is less than twelve (12) months after the day the change is published, unless the commission announces, at least 120 days before the Election day, that all necessary preparations can be made to allow the changes to the election”.
Respondent, NEC, takes the erroneous position that, under the above-cited law, it has no authority to change the definition of a constituency; that is, it has no authority to demarcate a constituency of approximately equal population as required by the Constitution unless the Legislature comes out with a New Reapportion of electoral constituencies. Between now and the end of May 2023 there will not be, and cannot be, any re-demarcation of New Electoral Constituency for the 2023 general election,” counts 6 of the Respondents’ returns stated.
“While Petitioner agrees that Respondent has no authority to demarcate constituency unless the Legislature sets constituency threshold, Petitioner CPP also contends that respondent’s position is wrong and un-Constitutional under the law in that Respondent has no authority to proceed with voter registration absent a constituency threshold and demarcation,” the respondent noted.
Respondent maintained that because Article 80 (d) of the Constitution authorizes the Legislature to prescribe population and constituency threshold before Respondent National Election Commission can demarcate, and because the Legislature has not done so, it is the Legislature that should answer to this Petition, and not National Election Commission. Again, Petitioner CPP contends that Respondent’s position is wrong and un-Constitutional under the law.
“It is due to the un-Constitutional conduct of Respondent National Elections Commission that Petitioner Collaborating Political Parties filed an In Re Petition to the full Bench of the Honorable Supreme Court of Liberia, hence this petitioner’s brief. By the filing of its petition, the CPP is concerned about the Constitutionality of the action of the Respondent, National Elections Commission (NEC), to conduct voter registration, after the conduct of a census, but without Constitutionally demarcating constituencies into which a voter is to be registered,” the respondent concluded.