Monrovia – The Deepening Democracy Coalition (DDC) has cautioned the government, international partners, and all stakeholders in the pending elections to restrain themselves from undermining Liberia’s fragile democracy by working to violate the Constitution and statutes of the country.
The DDC says ongoing initiatives to declare inoperable the residency provision of the Constitution, citizenship provisions of the Immigration and Naturalization Law, and the political participation provisions of the Code of Conduct are dangerous and must be discontinued.
The Coalition that comprises the Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia (CENTAL), Liberia Women Media Action Committee (LIWOMAC), Center for Media Studies and Peacebuilding (CEMESP), Press Union of Liberia (PUL), and Liberia Media Center (LMC) noted that there are clear procedures established in law for amending or repealing laws that the people or the governing authorities deem repugnant.
A DDC press statement issued in Monrovia stated that the convention of a stakeholder’s conference is not one of the methods established in and recognized by Liberian law to make changes to the country’s laws.
The Coalition said that a failure to follow the established legal procedures will only serve to set a horrible precedence for future governments and their cronies to bastardize the country’s legal processes.
The DDC calls on leaders of the AU, ECOWAS, UNMIL and Liberia’s other international partners to look to the ongoing political uncertainty and growing violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo to ensure that the right legal mechanisms for amending or repealing Liberian laws to be employed.
The prodemocracy civil society coalition says that after nearly 15 years of peace and 12 years of democratic governance, it is disheartening that Liberia’s democratic process will be put at risk by the misguided venture to illegally interfere with the country’s Constitution and laws.