Monrovia – Representative Edwin Melvin Snowe, Jr. burst out in tears when the Justices of the Supreme Court of Liberia in their judgment upheld the decision of the National Elections Commission (NEC) which allowed him to contest in Bomi County District-1 in the upcoming elections, despite being the sitting representative in Montserrado County District 6.
Report by Bettie Johnson-Mbayo, [email protected]
Rep. Snowe was dragged to the Supreme Court after three failed attempts to stop him from contesting in a protest at the NEC.
The complaints were filed by Senator Sando Johnson (Bomi-NPP) and Representative Samuel Garyah Karmo (Bomi, District 1) who took an appeal to the Supreme Court after the NEC Board of Commissioner certificated Snowe to participate in the pending election.
Prior to the board of commissioners’ decision to allow Rep. Snowe to contest in the upcoming election, he was denied participation by the hearing officer at the NEC on grounds that he did not meet the domicile requirement. That ruling was overturned by the Board of Commissioners.
Further contending that Snowe did not meet the domicile requirement as stated in the Section 5.7 of the National Elections Commission Regulations and Guidelines, the lawmakers took an appeal to the Supreme Court.
Handing down their opinion on the dispute between the lawmakers, Chief Justice Francis Korkpor opined that one does not have to be domiciled in a constituency/district in order to register and vote in that constituency/ district; rather be a resident in the constituency register and vote therein.
He said it makes no difference whether the person is a sitting representative of a constituency/district in a different county while serving as representative of the constituency in the county he was elected.
“That there is no law that forbids a sitting representative of a constituency/district in one county from changing his/her domicile to another constituency/district in another county while still serving as a representative of the constituency in the county he was elected,” Justice Korkpor averred.
He said the Court has no authority to extrapolate the intent of the framers of the Constitution beyond the plain and specific wordings of the provisions of the Constitution.
“Therefore, where a constitutional provision, on its face, is so plain and unambiguous, it needs no further interpretation, in our view, had the framers of Article 30(b) of the Constitution intended for elected legislators to continuously remain domiciled in the county or constituency to be represented not less than one year prior to the time of election and during the entire tenure in the Legislature without changing their domicile, the Constitution would have so stated,” he opined.
Justice Korkpor said the court hold that “what the constitution does not expressly provide for cannot be urged upon this court to consider, as doing so would amount to lawmaking, a function solely ascribed to the Legislative Branch of Government.”
He added that the electoral districts are created by law and the current demarcation which provides 73 electoral districts was done through a joint resolution of the Legislature, approved by the President of Liberia published and not created whenever a sitting legislator decides to register, vie or contest for an elective post in a constituency other than the one he/ she represents.
“That the rulings of the board of commissioners of the NEC dismissing the objections filed by the appellants, Rep. Karmo, and Johnson to the registration, nomination, and certification of the appellee, honorable Edwin Snowe is hereby affirmed,” Korkpor noted.
Of the five justices three signed the opinion while the wife of Snowe Justice Sie-A- Nyene Yuoh recused herself from the case and Justice Kabineh Ja’neh was out of the country.
Rep. Snowe refused to talk to journalists after the ruling, but one of his adversaries, Senator Johnson told FrontPageAfrica that he respects the rule of law and accepted the ruling even though he does not agree with it.
“This Supreme Court cannot be like the Supreme Court we see in other places; this Supreme Court is a compromised Supreme Court so we accept it as it is. And this is the worst Supreme Court we’ve ever had in the history of our country,” he said.