-As He Requests Special Legislative Session
By Jerromie S. Walters
MONROVIA – President Joseph N. Boakai Sr. has summoned the 55th Legislature to a ten-day Special Session beginning April 9, 2026, to seek approval for the printing of additional Liberian Dollar banknotes, the passage of the 2026 Supplementary Budget, and other matters of urgent national concern.
In an official letter to House Speaker Richard Nagbe Koon dated April 6, 2026, President Boakai invoked Article 32(b) of the Liberian Constitution, which authorizes the chief executive to convene an extraordinary session when national emergency or importance demands. The Special Session will run for ten working days, commencing Thursday, April 9, and ending Thursday, April 23, 2026.
The President acknowledged that the Legislature had adjourned sine die on March 19, 2026, following the completion of its first-quarter agenda for the Third Session, with the second quarter scheduled to resume on May 8, 2026. However, he stressed that the urgency of certain national matters, particularly the need for additional currency and supplementary budgetary measures, could not await the regular reconvening in May.
According to the President’s communication, the agenda for the Special Session includes a proposal for the printing of additional Liberian Dollar banknotes, a proposal for the passage of the 2026 Supplementary Budget, and other matters of national urgency. He described these proposals as time-sensitive and essential to the interests of the nation and its people.
Hours later, the House of Representatives acknowledged receipt of the President’s communication. House Speaker Richard Nagbe Koon has instructed the Chief Clerk’s office to duly inform the President for subsequent issuance of the proclamation.
The House of Representatives officially adjourned the First Quarter of the 3rd Session of the 55th Legislature, concluding a productive period of legislative work on March 19, 2026. The Lawmakers were expected to resume plenary sittings in May 2026. The quarter, which ran from January 15 to March 19, 2026, saw robust legislative and oversight activities aimed at advancing the country’s development agenda.
The Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) last printed and introduced a new family of Liberian dollar banknotes between 2021 and 2022, with the first batch of new L$100 notes arriving in November 2021. This issuance was authorized to replace old banknotes, with the process continuing through 2022, introducing new denominations including L$500 and L$1,000.
Between 2021 and 2022, the 54th Legislature authorized the CBL to print L$48.734 billion of a new, comprehensive family of banknotes to replace the existing ones. The first 4 billion new L$100 notes arrived in November 2021, with further infusions of new notes and coins (L$20, L$50, L$500, and L$1,000) throughout 2022. Old Liberian dollar banknotes were phased out, with a deadline for their use following March 31, 2024, after which only the new currency family remains legal tender.
The Special Session will run for a period of ten (10) working days, commencing Thursday, April 9, 2026, and ending Thursday, April 23, 2026. Article 32(b) of the Liberian Constitution empowers the President, either on his own initiative or upon receipt of a certificate endorsed by at least one-fourth of the total membership of each House, to convene or extend legislative sittings by proclamation. This provision ensures that matters of national emergency and importance are addressed promptly.
