Aggrieved Partisans Seek Court Intervention to Participate in UP Primary

Monrovia – Aggrieved partisans of the ruling Unity Party (UP) protesting against their disqualification from participating in party’s primary elections have announced an appeal to the Supreme Court to be heard during its March 2017 sitting.

Report by Kennedy L. Yangian [email protected]

The aggrieved governing party partisans, mostly Presidential appointees in government, announced the appeal Friday, January 20 when the Civil Law Court “B” at the Temple of Justice denied them a petition for declaratory judgment.

The petition for declaratory judgment requested by the Presidential appointees have called on the court to restore their rights in order to participate in the party’s county elections owing to the current Unity Party leadership’s stand which barred them from participating.

Kansualism Kansuah, Assistant Transport Minister and Vamba Kanneh, Commissioner of Gardnerville, say in the December 22, 2016 petition that they are citizens of the Republic of Liberia and bona fide members of the ruling Unity Party (UP).

But they claimed their rights have been violated by the National Executive Committee and county convention committee of the UP.

“The petitioners say further that the Unity Party highest decision making body of the National Convention endorsed Presidential appointees of the Unity Party contested in the party convention as evidenced by the fact of the most recent National Convention of the party held in Gbarnga, Bong County in July 2016,” said the two petitioners.

However, the legal counsel of the Unity Party (UP) Atty. Miller Catakaw called on the court to deny the petition because Article IX of the Constitution of the Unity Party provides that the National Executive Committee of the Unity Party (UP) shall be the supreme authority of the party vested with all legislative policy making with elections and managerial powers.

“Respondents say that the petitioners did not apply for any elective positions within the county leadership of Montserrado County, accordingly, petitioners have not completed the prerequisite for competing for elective positions,” said the respondents’ legal counsel.

Before his ruling on the petition for declaratory judgment, Judge Johanes Zogbay Zlahn stated that if the petitioners are members of the Unity Party (UP) as claimed and desirous of seeking county positions should resign their posts in government.

 “ Accordingly, the petitioners, if they are members of the Unity Party (UP) as they claim and are desirous of seeking county positions in the ensuing Unity Party (UP) Convention 2016 then they should bring themselves squarely within the guidelines by resigning their appointed positions in government,” said Judge Zlahn.

The Civil Law Court “B” Judge Zlahn also stated that the petitioners’ allegation that their rights and entitlement as provided for under the Unity Party Convention has no basis in facts and law.

However, Judge Zlahn continued that in view of the foregoing, the petitioners’ amended petition for declaratory judgment was hereby denied and dismissed in its entirety with costs disallowed.

But the legal counsel for the petitioners not satisfied by Judge Zlahn’s ruling also accepted and announced an appeal.