3 July 2009
Monrovia — After failing on two occasions to pass the much-talked about and somehow controversial Threshold Bill, the Liberian Senate yesterday concurred with the House of Representatives to pass the bill, but with modification and condition that no county get not less than two seats.
The new Threshold, as passed by the Liberian Senate stands at 40,000 instead of the 38,000 agreed upon by the House of Representatives. With its passage yesterday, it will be forwarded to President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf for her signature, after which it will be printed into handbills and subsequently become law.
Last week, the Senate could not come on term to pass the bill which many believe is tied to the holding of the 2011 general and presidential elections. The same was on Tuesday; this time around there was no quorum at all to conduct business due to the absence of almost 20 Senators out of the entire 30 Senators.
On Wednesday, the Senators converged in a Special Session to put the final nails to the coffin of the Bill, yet it was another show of arguments and contentions, but yesterday, Thursday, July 2, 2009 is the day that will go down in history, the day Senators settled down and passed the threshold bill.
With the setting of the Threshold at 40,000, the National Legislature is likely to swell with additional lawmakers representing new electoral districts in the country.
The 30 Senators sat from 10:00 am to 5:20pm deliberating the relative issues as a means of finding a way forward in setting the population threshold at a number acceptable by both the Lower and the Upper Houses.
Following heated debate in a Session that was closed to the public and the press, the Senators acting upon a motion by Bong County Senator Franklin Sinkor set the threshold bill at 40,000 with the condition that no county get not less than two seats.
According to our Legislative correspondent, 9 Senators voted against the threshold being set at 40,000 while 16 Senators voted in favor with the condition that no county should get less than two seats.
With the setting of the Threshold at 40,000, more seats have been added to Montserrado, Nimba, Bong and Lofa Counties.
The Montserrado County will now get 27 seats, Nimba 11, while Bong and Lofa Counties will pocket 8 and 6 seats respectively.
But political analysts see the setting of the Threshold at 40,000 and the creation of more electoral district representations as means of putting central government into huge financial burdens.
According to them, had the Threshold been set a 45,000 or above, the lower house would have maintained it current seats with each county maintaining their respective electoral districts, thus reducing financial burdens on government.
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