-Insists on Strict 30% Gender Quota or Disqualification
MONROVIA, LIBERIA – The Organization for Women and Children (ORWOCH) has condemned the proposed amendments to Section 4.5 of Liberia’s New Elections Law, warning that vague language will allow political parties to bypass mandatory gender representation requirements.
While the draft amendments use the word “shall” — which typically indicates a binding obligation — ORWOCH notes that the inclusion of “good cause,” “best efforts,” and “sound discretion of the Commission” effectively creates an escape hatch for parties that fail to meet a 30 percent gender quota on candidate lists.
ORWOCH stated that such wording is an attempt to reword the ‘endeavor to ensure’ clause that has produced the same poor results for women in past elections, calling the proposal a slap in the face to women’s rights organizations who struggled and lobbied to change this provision.
Under the current proposal, ORWOCH argues that a political party could fail to meet the 30 percent quota and still participate in elections by simply convincing the National Elections Commission (NEC) that they tried their best, a standard the organization describes as subjective and one that transforms a legal requirement into a discretionary suggestion.
History has shown, ORWOCH added, that without strict, objective penalties, political parties will continue to prioritize the status quo over inclusive governance, and the organization insisted that Liberia does not need laws that ask parties to ‘endeavor’ or ‘try’ under a different name. Instead, ORWOCH demands a law that says no 30 percent means no ballot, arguing that anything less is a betrayal of the Liberian woman’s right to political participation.
ORWOCH is therefore calling on the Liberian Legislature to strike the “good cause” provision and replace it with a clear, administrative mandate that leaves no room for the NEC’s “sound discretion” to override gender justice. To achieve this, the organization recommends that lawmakers remove all subjective language by striking the phrases “good cause can be shown,” “best efforts,” and “sound discretion of the Commission,” which it describes as legally vague and unenforceable.
ORWOCH further urges the Legislature to establish objective compliance by treating the 30 percent threshold as a technical requirement for party registration, similar to filing fees or signature requirements, and insists that the NEC must be legally compelled to reject any candidate list that does not meet the numerical threshold without exception. The organization also proposes a fixed 48-hour window for parties to correct non-compliant lists, after which the party would be automatically disqualified from that specific election cycle.
To close what it calls the “comply or explain” loopholes, ORWOCH has proposed specific new language for Section 4.5(1)(c) of the election law. The proposed language states that a list of candidates submitted by a political party, coalition, or alliance of political parties to the Commission for legislative elections shall have no less than thirty percent of the candidates from each gender, and that the Commission shall refuse to accept any list that fails to meet this minimum requirement.
The proposed text adds that no exception, waiver, or claim of ‘best efforts’ shall be entertained or granted by the Commission, and that any party, coalition, or alliance whose list is rejected shall have 48 hours to submit a revised list that fulfills the 30 percent standard. Finally, the proposed language states that failure to submit a compliant list within this timeframe shall result in the automatic disqualification of the party, coalition, or alliance from the pending election.
