Monrovia — The government of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf on Friday won a major constitutional battle that will allow her to appoint mayors for dozens of cities across the country.

In its ruling, the Supreme Court was split, with three of the five justices ruling in her favor. Sirleaf came under sharp criticism from some opposition political parties last year when she made known her desire to appoint city mayors. Traditionally, they have been elected.

However, Article 54(d) of the Liberian Constitution states only that the President shall appoint "superintendents, other county officials and officials of other political sub divisions."

The lack of specificity over mayors, coupled with the tradition of elections, led two opposition parties, the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) of soccer legend George Weah, and the Liberty Party (LP) of Charles Brumskine, to take the government to the Supreme Court.

The court's decision stated that city mayors would be included in the reference to "other county officials and officials of other political subdivisions."

Speaking to a local radio station Friday, a spokesperson for the Liberty Party said that "today is a dark day for the country's emerging democracy."

The ruling will be welcome news for the government, which has said it does not have enough money to conduct local government elections. It will also give Sirleaf a clear mandate to replace county officials.