If it says anything at all, the first postwar elections that saw Africa's first female president to power says that Liberia's political and electoral processes are fast improving since the end of the Liberian civil war in 2003.

In an effort to add continued strength and dynamism to the democratic process, the nation's longest serving lawmaker in the House of Representatives, Maryland County District 1 Rep. James Banny, plans on taking to the plenary of the House a Bill that would place restrictions on government officials in the executive and the NGO sector from participating in elections while currently serving in any public position. This, he said, is being done to introduce fair play and equal opportunity to the electoral process.

According to a highly placed source in Banny's office, the new Bill that is about to be introduced on Thursday, August 1, 2013, will focus on providing a level playing field in Liberia's democracy and the elections process.

The source said Rep. Banny's proposed Bill which is entitled "An Act to Prevent Obnoxious Political Activities" is intended to provide guidance on how individuals, especially those from the executive branch of government and in the NGO sector in the country, should participate in national elections.

The Bill, when introduce on Thursday and hopefully passed into law by the legislature, will prevent all ministers, governors, directors, heads and deputies of agencies appointed by the President of Liberia as well as heads of NGOs from participating in campaigns and elections in the country.

The source hinted to this paper that the intent of Rep. James Banny's proposed Bill is to prevent those who are appointed by the President to the ministries, agencies and other positions of power, but desire to participate in election activities, from using their position of influence and public resources in the interest of their candidature and so undermine the true intent of the phrase 'free and fair elections' in Liberia.

According to the source, the Bill also has in it a requirement for ministers, directors and other heads of government functionaries as well as NGO heads to first resign from their positions a year prior to the elections; stressing that those who occupy such positions often use government and donor monies to fund their campaigns or the president's campaign to the disadvantage of others.

Furthermore, the source explained that Rep. Banny's Bill is intended to prevent local and national government officials from denying opposition political parties and other candidates the advantage of using government or public facilities. In an effort to please the president, to whom they have pledged allegiance, these government officials use their positions of power to prevent others from attaining elected office and so diminish the power and capacity of their president.

The Bill, when is passed, will demonstrate the actual meaning of the words 'political level playing field' in Liberia's elections, said our source.

When Rep. Banny was contacted on the Bill, he said reporters assigned to the Capitol Building should be at the session on time on Thursday to hear his official position on the new Elections Bill that he said is modeled after the Hatch Act of 1939 in the USA which prevents people in appointed positions from contesting elections while still serving in their appointed capacities.