Is the National Referendum Relevant?

...Jerome Verdier Says No, Points to Violations
I have written my impression on the referendum in a 26-page letter to Her Excellency and members of the National Legislature. Without much to say, I will premise my presentation on the fact that the propositions for Referendum are all irrelevant. As far as the best interest of the Liberian people are concerned, as far as the aspiration of the Liberian people for greater democracy are concerned, as far as transitional and reform objectives are concerned,. The entire referendum is irrelevant.
The second thing to add to this position is that the Referendum is premature. It is not well-planned; there have been no rather consultations on issues of Constitutional Reform – what we need in Liberia is not amendment, we need a reform process that takes time, that generates debate, that consults with the Liberian people and generates their impressions.
Since the conflict, it was necessary for us to suspend the Constitution because it appears as good as the Constitution is, it has not worked well for Liberia. That is why when the Constitution was inaugurated in 1984 or ’86, there was war in 1985, there was war in 1990, and throughout 1990 to 2005, the Constitution was suspended. In my view, we need to reform our Constitution and not to amend it as being suggested to satisfy those who are in authority.
Democracy is rule by the people; and we sent our Representatives to the Legislature to represent us. Which one of the Representatives can claim that they are representing their constituencies? None! [This is] because they have never presented the issue to people they represent.
We are supposed to empower our people to amend or reform our Constitution. It should not be the prerogative of 64 or 100 persons plus one at the Executive mansion. No! The exercise is premised on uncertified, short-term and very myopic short-term political objective – and this objective is hidden in the proposition for the reduction of the residency clause. All the other things are just to make it looks like somebody is thinking about the constitution. That is why you see all the propositions lack depths; they refused to honor all the constitutional requirements because the Constitution says they should be published in a gazette and the gazette should contain the rationale for each of the propositions.
As I stand before you, there are members of the Legislature who themselves are not aware and do not understand the rationale for those propositions just like the ordinary citizens like us.
There is an argument going around that: Why we didn’t oppose the Referendum one year ago? My response is, I didn’t know about it until today, until just recently when I got a copy from of the political parties; and [the Party] and I refer to Article 92 [of the Constitution which states that the rationales] should be published in an official Gazette and circulated around the country. An UNTIL THAT PUBLICATION IS COMPLETED, THE ACTION OF THE LEGISLATURE IS NOT YET COMPLETE. You cannot begin to count one year in September or August last year. No! [This is] because we are not informed and there is no informed basis for the Referendum.
The Constitution has been consistently violated, and we have not spoken about; so our Legislature and the Executive Branch feel free and comfortable to continue these violations. We go back to the threshold - [the National] Elections Commission has published regulations governing Referendum and it refers to people voting not art Constituencies but at polling stations.
Where in the Constitution or in any law that they have in Liberia that you can vote at polling stations – check it out. UNDER WHAT AUTHORITY [IS] THE [NATIONAL] ELECTIONS COMMISSION ATTEMPTING TO CONDUCT A REFERENDUM?
The Constitutions says you should have an Elections Commission – there is legislation establishing the National Elections Commission; the Constitution says you should have an auditing Commission, there is a legislation establishing the auditing commission. The Constitution prescribed a lot of things. The Constitution [also] says you should conduct a Referendum; there is no legislation to support the conduct or the holding of Referendum in Liberia. So under what authority the [National] Elections Commission can assume that it can conduct a referendum and issue the draft regulation that it has issued? If you read the legislations, they are laws. So the [National] Election Commission is making law to govern the conduct of Referendum? Our Legislature should have made those laws and they haven’t made them.
The other question, this government has only nine months to be in office. Why should it attempt to change the Constitution and burden the future government when it only nine months in office and two months to elections, from August to October? What is the rationale; what is the overriding influence the compelling need for a referendum before elections.
All we have said is that all of the four propositions are irrelevant – it doesn’t benefit me, it doesn’t benefit you, it doesn’t promote peace, it doesn’t advance reconciliation, it doesn’t benefit the country in anyway.
We have had fourteen years of turmoil in this country. Do you know why the TRC was established? To examine the problems we have experience and find a way out. The recommendations from the TRC should form a national constitutional reform process. Do you know why we have a Governance Reform Commission? To examine all the problems associated with governance. Recommendations from the Governance Reform Commission should form a national constitutional reform process. Do you know why we have the GAC now? Is to examine all the issues relating to accountability; the recommendations from there should form a process to reform the Constitution. Do you know why we have the Anti-Corruption after the war? Is to examine the issues of corruption and to make sure that any reform process of this Constitution that seems not to work well for us, we should make sure to incorporate the recommendations of the Anti-Corruption Commission. All of these transitional institutions were established to protect the future. We are ignoring them, we are violating the laws and we want to go into an election plague with legal and constitutional violation which is not good for our country.
I have said, and I did say in a communication to the President of Liberia that this election is similar to the 1985 elections. That election came after a brutal conflict which saw the execution of our President and the killing of our entire cabinet. We’ve played with it – there were legal issues concerned, we didn’t address them.
The Election Commission functioned in its own manner, at its own will without any check and balance. The President decided he has the authority and he will do what he wanted to do. He created an impression of lies, an impression of subservience to the President. So whatever was the result the Liberian people knew that it would have been rigged and it led serious conflict that took us down the role of 14 years of war.
Now we are about to hold another elections. The Elections Commission pronounced that to hold a referendum before elections would be impossible. The Elections Commission on its own analysis and credibility came out and said it is impossible – and I am echoing that voice of the Commission – it is impossible, it is illegal, it is premature- and it is unfortunate. The consequences I cannot imagine but we all will see the consequences to the extent to hold a premature National Referendum.
A referendum is just like a national election. Can you hold two national elections at a time? People are even reluctant to vote for candidates, for people. Can they vote for ideas that they don’t understand, they know nothing about? It’s a mockery and I repeat it is… pursuing a narrow political objective which serves the country no good and we all should object; we all should be opposed to uphold illegality.
The Constitution says before you hold a referendum you should publish; I am saying that they have hidden the propositions from the Liberian people; it should be published one year in advance before the National Referendum. And so they have not been published in March, and I know it will not be published in April, it means that Referendum should not be held before March of 2012, meaning that after the elections, we can come together as a nation and a people to conduct the referendum under the a calm atmosphere. The propositions are disservice to us and insult to our intelligence as a people who have survive a fourteen year conflict and have and are determined to build peace in Liberia.