Photo: FrontPage Africa Monrovia — The National Elections Commission is about to find itself in a precarious situation, somewhere between a rock and a difficult place it currently does not want be.
"The President signed the amended Code of Conduct which gives authority to the NEC and the Courts to make decisions on matters relating to the elections.
The law is the law, we may not like it, but we will enforce it." - Mr. Henry Boyd Flomo, Communications Director, National Elections Commission R.L
Barely 72 hours following the filing of a writ of prohibition by Assistant Post and Telecommunication Minister, Abu Kamara, there appears to be another litmus test for the NEC.
It had already been jittered by remarks of former Central Bank Governor, Dr. J. Mills Jones that come hell or high water, he will be a candidate on the ticket of the Movement for Economic Empowerment.
"We will resist that law, we don't care whether it was approved by the Court of Pontius Pilate. I will contest and nothing can stop me from being a candidate in the elections come 2017," Jones said to a roaring crowd of supporters.
In his lawsuit filed before the full bench of the Supreme Court, Kamara contends that he was denied due process which, he stated, is a violation of Article 20(a) of the Constitution of 1986.
Article 20(a) of the constitution states that "No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, security of the person, property, privilege or any right as an outcome of a hearing consistent with provisions laid down in the Constitution and in accordance with due process of the law."
Code of conduct violation and potential conflict of interest
At the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex on Thursday and supported by hundreds of partisans, Cllr. Charles W. Brumskine, Standard Bearer of the Liberty Party and former Coca-Cola administrator, Alexander B. Cummings, also Standard Bearer of the Alternative National Congress, presented their respective listing of candidates to the NEC for the October General and Presidential Elections.
However, both parties are blemished by the code of conduct which calls for the resignation of Presidential appointees two years prior to the elections, if they wish to contest in said elections.
For Liberty Party Vice Standard Bearer, Harrison Karnwea, his resignation as Managing Director of the Forestry Development Authority when the Code of Conduct had been signed and printed into hand bills.
His fate remains blur, flying in the face of moot that a possible case of conflict of interest may arise as Cllr. Charles Brumskine was once the boss of NEC Chairman, Cllr. Jerome Korkoya at the Pierre, Tweh and Associates law firm.
But supporters of the party have consistently argued that Karnwea did not express political interest but was rather called upon to be standard bearer of the party.
Mr. Alexander Cummings has two apparent things involved. He has been repeatedly dogged by the residency clause of the constitution and his appointment to the board of the Booker Washington Institute.
As sticky as it gets, the NEC has to make a decision - one that would have been left with the ombudsman to decide had some of its authority not been scrapped by the Legislature.
As it stands, many candidates vying for the presidency and seats in the Legislature but are/were Presidential appointees who didn't resign timely to be in the good graces of the Code of Conduct - their hopes are pinned on Kamara's writ of prohibition amid statement from NEC Communications Director, Henry Flomo, that the law will be implemented to the fullest, however unpalatable it may be.
"The President signed the amended Code of Conduct which gives authority to the NEC and the Courts to make decisions on matters relating to the elections. The law is the law, we may not like it, but we will enforce it," Flomo said.
Though President Sirleaf has signed the code of conduct, her recent statement that all candidates will contest would be at odd with the Supreme Court.
Though the court interprets the law, execution of it thereof lies in the Executive controlled by Sirleaf.
"And that all Liberians will participate and will exercise their choice. And I believe that our leaders, our political candidates will all be a part of it and will ensure that the process is successfully [conducted], allowing Liberians for the first time in 48 years to make a transition from one elected President to another elected President", President Sirleaf said Friday, 26 May at a Press Stakeout with visiting Ghanaian President Nana Akufo - Addo in Monrovia.
