Africa-Press – Liberia. There is a lot going amiss within the Liberty Party (LP), sadly, all these are going on at the highest level of leadership of the party, causing divisions and segregation and both sides at loggerheads throwing wild accusations at each other.
Last week, some key figures within the party including the political leader, vice chairman for political affairs, legislative caucus members and other National Executive Committee members were dealt a great blow – slapped with suspension having failed to settle their financial obligations towards to the party.
The Reaction
The Political Leader, Senator Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence, is said to be owing US$18,000 which represents dues owed from January-December 2021. Senator Karnaga-Lawrence, though admits to owing dues, she contends that there is the need to give partisans a safe and structured means by which payments are made within the framework of an approved constitution. She noted that “there are people in the party whose due cannot be measured in dollars and cents.”
Senator Kangar-Lawrence: “Talking about the Political Leader? The Financial burden we bear on a daily basis is immeasurable. I have spent tens of thousands of dollars to help sustain our institution including a total of thirty thousand (30,000.00) to rent our former headquarters at Catholic Junction from 2018-2020. During LP Chairmanship of the CPP, I singlehandedly sponsored all activities including the turning over ceremony and other event on behalf of LP. Not to mention funds spent to assist with LP activities including retreat and conventions. A little over a year ago, Liberty Party was blessed to receive into membership Honorable Barnes. Mr. Barnes, as you know, comes with so much value to Liberty Party. Is this an individual Mr. Bility will refer to as not being able to pay due, therefore proceeds to publish his name?”
She added: When LP was in arrears at its former national headquarters, it took me, Senator Zargo, Senator Dillon, Mrs. Carmena Abdallah and other stakeholders, to save the party by collecting up to $40,000 United States Dollars to offset the arrears. At that time, Mr. Bility was nowhere around. Also, Grand Bassa made the highest deposit in our party account that was unilaterally changed by Wadei Powell.
Their suspension, according to the Chairman of the Party, Musa H. Bility, was in line with Article IX of the LP constitution which states: “Persons accepted as members of the party shall pay a montly membership fee as may from time to time be set by the NEC… Members in good standing are members whose… membership dues are fully current and up to date… Members who are not in good standing shall not be allowed to hold any office within the party, and if such member holds a position in the party, elected or appointed, he/she shall be suspended from the office by the NEC, until he/she shall have resumed the status of member in good standing. If after three months, such member is still delinquent, he/she shall be permanently removed from the office; and may be expelled from the office.”
In a press conference held over the weekend, the embattled political leader went on to say that “instead of fixing the financial process and the constitutional issues, Mr. Bility chose a poor public relations tactic that has now backfired on him. Of course, we know that this is now a complete charade whose effect cannot see the light of day.”
The LP Constitution Crisis
The chairman and political leader have been in disagreement over the authenticity of the party’s 2021 amended constitution submitted to the National Elections Commission since August this year.
Sen. Karnga-Lawrence attempted withdrawing the amended Constitution from the National Elections Commission (NEC) and urged the NEC to recognized the 2015 constitution as its legitimate constitution until. The Elections Commission, however, declined, stating that it would only recognize the amended constitution which was submitted in accordance with due process.
This means, no decision can be taken outside what is spelled out in the 2021 amended constitution of the party. According to the political leader, the amended constitution submitted by the party chairman, Mr. Musa H. Bility was neither reviewed nor approved by her. She stated that the minutes/report of the Special Convention which she presided over was also not reviewed or approved by her.
“A preliminary analysis, after a receipt of said document from your office upon my request, has revealed numerous errors including potential alterations amidst procedural error and breaches, the intent of which is subject to conjecture,” she stated in her communication to the NEC.
The communication continued: “All the above are in violation of established procedures, the Liberty Party By-laws & constitution, the rules of the NEC, amongst others. However, to maintain party unity, and arrive at a solution, I am appointing an inquiry committee. In the interim, the last adopted constitution of 2015 and filed with the National Elections Commission within the statutory time shall govern the affairs of the Liberty Party.”
Bility’s Defense
Mr. Bility recalled that in January 2020, during the LP Reconciliatory Rereat held in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County, the Constitutional Review Committee (CRC) was convened and mandated to carry out a review and revision of the LP Constitution within 45 days.
He stated that, due to the onset of COVID, the CRC’s work was delayed and in July 2020 a draft revised Constitution was submitted to the relevant LP authorities – Political Leader, National Executive Committee, County Chairs, and Executive Council and Special Convention Committee – for their written input.
The Executive Council (EC) Sitting was held from August 1-2, 2020 in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County, to review and approve the proposed amendments and adopt the new LP Constitution.
He further recalled that on day one of the Executive Council Sitting encompassed a side-by-side review of the existing LP Constitution against the proposed draft. Several additional proposals were made for inclusion and after an entire day of review and deliberations some proposals were accepted and same were incorporated into the final draft LP Constitution which you authenticated by signing each and every page.
Day two of the EC Sitting encompassed a review of the final draft LP Constitution which was subsequently adopted and signed by Sen. Karnga-Lawrence as presiding officer and the Chair of the Constitution review process.
He stated that all proposed amendments were recorded in the Executive Council Sitting Report which clearly showed all of the amendments approved and was published thereafter for comments. There were no comments or objections received and the Report was subsequently accepted.
Mr. Bility indicated that contrary to Sen. Karnga-Lawrence’s claim that the procedures were not followed, she acknowledged the legitimacy of the process in her special order to the national executive council in November 2020.
“You congratulated LP “for a successful Special Executive Council sitting, during which proposed revisions to the 2015 LP Constitution were reviewed and adopted, and consolidated into the revised LP Constitution, opening up the party for a more democratic and open form of collective leadership,” he stated.
He added, “Upon revision of the 2015 Constitution, proposed changes were made, voted on and adopted by 98% of the delegates at the Executive Council sitting on August 1-2, 2020 in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County, as recorded in the Planning Committee Report on the Executive Council Sitting…which was accepted by the Executive Committee in a meeting presided over by Chairman Zargo.”
Mr. Bility, among other things, further noted that since the adoption of the 2021 LP Constitution in January 2021, the Party has operated under the new Constitution with no challenge. He stated that the very constitution that is now be contested by Sen. Karnga-Lawrence and the National Executive Committee was used as the legal authority to nominate/appoint Eminent Partisans to the National Executive Committee and National Advisory Council.
“I was therefore astonished to receive a letter from you dated June 22, 2021 informing me that “scores of partisans…have complained about discrepancies in the Constitution, including the National Vice-Chair for Political Affairs, Senator Abraham Darius Dillon” and that there are “escalating concerns from members of the Executive Committee relative to the Constitution not reflecting what was voted on in Gbarnga,” he asserted.
According to Bility, on Wednesday, July 28, 2021, the political leader convened a meeting of the LP NEC, NAC and County Chairs to discuss the complaints brought forward in her June 22 letter. During this meeting, he stated that, Sen. Dillon, instead of presenting evidence of the discrepancies in the constitution, undertook a review of specific sections of the constitution – a process that has already been concluded prior to the Gbarnga Convention, according to Bility.
Bility: “The sections Sen. Dillon was concerned with were those having to do with the powers of the Political Leader. He claimed that he made a motion in Gbarnga for the Political Leader powers to be restored and that the motion was accepted. Contrary to this claim, minutes and video evidence produced during that meeting at our HQ debunked Sen. Dillon’s claim that he made a motion and that the motion was passed on by the Convention.”
Bility further indicated that at the Buchanan Executive Council Sitting, Sen. Darius Dillon proffered the motion to adopt the new constitution as follows: “Having had a very comprehensive review of our Constitution with sufficiency of discussion and inputs and having concluded the process that serves the basis for the adoption, I move, if I can obtain a second, that the reviewed constitution be adopted as the Liberty Party New Constitution”.
Deputy SG Daniel Sando seconded the motion and it was passed with an affirmative vote of 31 with none against or abstaining, thereby bringing into effect the new constitution of Liberty Party.
Bility: “It is, therefore, baffling that you and Sen. Dillon would now want to suggest that LP subjects itself to giving all powers within the Party to a single person, the Political Leader, and not the decentralized and democratic practice of using the LP NEC and Special National Convention as prescribed. It begs the question of why now, seven months after the adoption of the Constitution, and towards what agenda, especially given that a main component of the Constitution review process was to “open up the party for a more democratic and open form of collective leadership” as stated by yourself in your Special Order to the Executive Council.”
Nyonblee’s Insistence
In her press conference over the weekend, Senator Karnga-Lawrence insisted that having received and reviewed the copy of the constitution filed with the National Elections Commission, the following were observed:
It was detected that contrary to what delegates had approved at the Special National Convention, both the Chairman and the Secretary General had proceeded to reword the provision of Article VI Sections 1 and 2, affecting the functions of the Political Leader and the Executive Committee headed by the National Chairman. The provisions are stated below: As approved by the Gbarnga Convention in relation to the PL:
The Standard Bearer/Political Leader, in consultation and collaboration with the NEC, shall formulate policy and procedures to implement the decisions of the National Convention, call Special Conventions as provided for in Article VIII, and take such other actions and proper measures that he/she may deem as necessary to advance the best interest of the Party.
As altered by the Chairman and Secretary General and submitted to NEC The National Executive Committee, in consultation and collaboration with the NEC, shall formulate policy and procedures to implement the decisions of the National Convention, call Special Conventions as provided for in Article VIII, and take such other actions and proper measures that he/she may deem as necessary to advance the best interest of the Party.
“Immediately, the Political Leader informed the National Chairman about this and requested that action be taken to correct the changes made in the Constitution. The Chairman and the SG put up stiff resistance, arguing that as far as they were concerned, the Constitution they had submitted to NEC was the proper Constitution, and that nothing would be done about it,” she noted.
Removing Bility as Chairman
Interestingly over the weekend, the suspended political leader ‘nullified’ Mr. Bility’s chairmanship of the party. Senator Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence claimed that her action is based on an investigative report which disclosed that the election that brought Bility to power was fraudulent and marred by procedural errors.
“We must take responsibility to make the necessary corrections in line with our value of following the rule of law. Given the findings of the Special Investigation Committee which incorporated testimonies of the major actors in the planning and execution of the Convention, and acting in line with Article Five Section 1 (d) of the 2015 Constitution which designates the Political Leader as the Convener of the Special National Convention, we hereby declare the Convention of January 21-23, 2021 nullified,” Sen. Karnga-Lawrence declared.
Senator Karnga-Lawrence said that her action is based on the investigation result. Therefore, she is nullifying the result of the convention that brought Bility to the chairmanship and is returning the party to the status quo ante.
“The party returns to status quo ante. The Honorable Senator Stephen Zargo assumes the leadership of the Liberty Party as Chairman,” the Grand Bassa Senator said. “In the coming days, the Chairman will convene a meeting of all stakeholders, including Musa Hassan Bility, who reverts to his previous role as Chairman of the National Advisory Council, to decide the future of our party.
Bility Writes NEC
In a December 10, 2021 communication to the National Elections Commission, the chairman of the Liberty Party indicated that the claims of alteration and wrongful submission before the Commission by the Political Leader had been thoroughly disposed by the Commission.
He noted the Commission had instructed the Political Leader to seek redress using internal dispute resolution mechanism as to the allegation of alteration and informed her that the only means by which the party’s constitution could be withdrawn or amended was through a mandate from the party’s convention.
The NEC also confirmed the process followed by the Liberty Party in the submission of its amended constitution was in line with the NEC rules. He further noted in his communication to the National Elections Commission that as per both the NEC and Liberty Party rules, the party has also disposed of the allegations of alterations internally at the National Executive Committee and National Advisory Council levels.
He disclosed that the final disposition of the matter is on the agenda for the upcoming special national convention, which is the duly recognized body under the Liberty party constitution endorse any and all edits to the constitution.
Mr. Bility stated, “The insistence of the Political Leader to use ‘backdoor’ methods to disrupt the party has become a nuisance and her latest attempt to again tarnish the validity of the Constitution by withdrawal and public threats to nullify the entire proceedings of the Gbarnga Special National Convention and expel the National Chairman and officers of the National Executive Committee, are not only unconstitutional but clearly and indication of her refusal to adhere to and lack of understanding of the procedural process of the political parties in Liberia and the LP constitution.”
He informed the National Elections Commission that no member of the party’s National Advisory Council approved the “National Advisory Council Report” on which the Political Leader is basing to nullify the convention and remove him (Bility) as chairman of the party.
“When we first attained a copy of the report from the Commission, none of the National Advisory Council members were aware of any such report. It is clear that the report is a concoction by the Political Leader because much of what is contained in it represent her claims at the retreat that were not substantiated or approved by the body,” he noted.
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