…Amb Lewis Brown disclosed
Ambassador Lewis Garseedah Brown, a steward of the Alternative National Congress (ANC ) and a former Chief Negotiator of Liberia’s peace, and Permanent Representative of Liberia to the United Nations, in New York, is dismayed about the proceedings of the
National Elections Commission (NEC) in the ongoing voter registration exercise, and believes that the Commission must never act unconstitutionally in executing its constitutional responsibilities.
Since the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP), dragged NEC to court, Ambassador has maintained that the Commission is yet to allot a period in its variously published and revised electoral schedules for the reapportionment of constituencies.
“The governing electoral body has not allotted a period in its variously published and revised electoral schedules for the reapportionment of constituencies, a constitutional mandate assigned to it, he noted in a write-up.
He believes the Commission’s refusal is because they never intended to use the recent census results nor even 2008 one, and does not still intend to use any census results critical to the conduct of free, fair, and constitutional elections in Liberia.
As the Supreme Court has consistently decided Amb. Brown said the NEC has no option but to strictly obey the Constitution. Strangely, however, the governing electoral body is yet to concur with the court’s decision.
“Since the commencement of the voter registration without the reapportionment of the constituencies, there have been various public reports of illegal and massive trucking of voters and the dangerous invasion into our democracy by non-Liberians from neighboring countries. This, too, is a consequence of the failure to obey the Constitution”.
He continued, “Compounding a violation does not cure a wrong; it worsens the wrong to the detriment of the nation. There are always consequences for breaking the law”.
As the Supreme Court puts it, “[A]dherence to the mandates and directives of the constitution by every citizen and authority is mandatory”, he said no one has the right to ignore or disregard its mandate.
He emphasized that all government institutions and officers thereof are expected to meticulously perform the duties and functions which the constitution confers upon them and within the timeframe mandated for the performance of an assigned duty” (CPP et al vs NEC et al, October Term, 2020).
According to him, it follows that the failure of the Legislature or incompetence of LISGIS to act within constitutional time in no way grants unto the NEC an excuse not to act in strict obedience to constitutional mandates. LEG-002 offers the NEC no constitutional shelter under which it can hide. Moreover, knowing the definition of a constituency – its population and boundary – is fundamental to conducting free, fair, constitutional, and credible elections.
Moreover, Amb Brown narrated that the constitutional duty of the NEC is not to conduct any elections or to simply assure that all registered voters have a place to vote but mandatorily extends to ensuring that elections are conducted as prescribed by and in keeping with the Constitution and that each person’s vote, especially for members of the House of Representatives, is worth the vote of another in other constituencies. From these constitutional duties, the NEC cannot be excused.
“What if the Legislature does not act to trigger the NEC’s constitutional action? The simple answer still is that the NEC must never act unconstitutionally. Where one constitutional action must trigger another, for the NEC to act absent such triggers, however good the intention of the NEC may be, only aids and abets institutional lawlessness”.
The opposition figure noted that the NEC cannot be joined with the Legislature and other agencies of the Executive, whose members and leaders are contesting in the upcoming elections, in compounding rather than publicly resisting constitutional violations.
“The net effect is to rob the NEC of its credibility and independence into collusion to reward derelictions of duties to the Constitution and skew the electoral process and its outcome away from constitutional authority, security, and integrity”, he said.
Moreover, he alluded that Liberians must not allow Liberia to slip into lawlessness, individual or institutional.
“However, to do so, Liberia now needs five men and women – perhaps even three – to do what is right and to stand on the side of that which is lawful, because it is right. Paraphrasing Josiah Holland: God, give us men, and women, the time in Liberia demands”, he added.
