THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF the National Elections Commission (NEC) that it would be holding a referendum to put a citizen’s stamp on four constitutional provisions that the National Legislature had passed into law in August this year has once again brought the significance of the generosity of spirit in Liberian politics to the fore. The referendum grew out of the intense desire by Liberia’s political elites to change some provisions of the 1986 Constitutions in order to address controversial political questions. Key amongst the questions are the residency clause; the absolute majority requirement for elective office, which invariably leads to cost-intensive runoffs because it of involves more than half dozen candidates; and the national elections timetable and political campaigns, viewed in proximity to the annual rainy season that ends in October.
IN JULY THIS year, the Legislature presented to the government the referendum package containing four amendments requiring the stamp of the citizens’ authority in keeping with Article 91 of the Constitution. NEC will now conduct the referendum following internal financial adjustments with partners’ approval. For some unsuspecting Liberians and international partners, that should be enough to have every Liberian – voter or candidate – rest assured of free, fair, transparent, and cost-saving elections on the second Tuesday of December 2011. That is if all things go according to expectation – residency time cut by half; legislators elected on simple majority, accruing to Liberia some US $44.9 million in runoff savings; and the chief justice of Liberia given lifetime tenure. It seems a simple resolution of issues critical to the smooth conduct of the 2011 watershed presidential and general elections.
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