Monrovia – The Liberian People’s Party (LPP), one of the country’s oldest political parties, has petitioned the Sixth Judicial Circuit Civil Law Court to declare unconstitutional a controversial provision of Liberia’s elections law that could bar several political parties from participating in future elections.
By Gerald C. Koinyeneh, gerald.koinyeneh@frontpageafricaonline.com
The petition, filed against the National Elections Commission (NEC), challenges Section 5A of the Amended Elections Law of 2014, which empowers the NEC to suspend or effectively deregister political parties and independent candidates that fail to secure at least two percent of the valid votes cast in a general election or fail to win a legislative seat.
The LPP, headed by political leader Cllr. Tiawan Saye Gongloe and National Chairman J. Yanqui Zaza, argues that the provision violates several articles of the 1986 Constitution and poses a serious threat to Liberia’s multi-party democratic system.
According to the petition, the party is seeking a declaratory judgment invalidating Section 5A on grounds that it unlawfully restricts citizens’ rights to organize politically, compete in elections, and participate in the governance of the country.
Under Section 5A(1), political parties and independent candidates that fail to meet the required electoral threshold are prohibited from nominating candidates in the next two successive elections for the same office.
The LPP contends that the provision directly conflicts with Article 1 of the Constitution, which vests political power in the people and guarantees their right to choose leaders through regular, free, and democratic elections.
“The exclusion of duly registered political parties from future elections solely because of previous electoral performance limits the choices available to voters and undermines the constitutional principle of popular sovereignty,” the petition states.
The legal challenge follows indications by the NEC that it intends to enforce the provision against parties that failed to meet the required threshold during the 2023 presidential and legislative elections.
The LPP participated in the October 2023 elections but received approximately 1.44 percent of the presidential vote and failed to secure a legislative seat, placing it below the statutory requirement.
In its filing, the party argues that Section 5A creates two classes of political parties—those permitted to continue participating in elections and those excluded because of poor electoral performance—thereby violating constitutional guarantees of equal protection under the law.
The petition further maintains that Articles 78, 79, and 80 of the Constitution provide the only grounds upon which a political party may be denied registration or have its registration revoked. Those provisions focus on threats to Liberia’s constitutional order, including attempts to abolish the democratic system or the use of violence for political purposes.
“The Constitution does not authorize the revocation or suspension of political parties based on electoral performance,” the petition argues.
The LPP also contends that Section 5A infringes on constitutional protections for freedom of association, freedom of expression, and political participation.
According to the filing, political parties serve as vehicles through which citizens collectively express political views, advocate policy positions, and participate in governance. Penalizing parties for poor electoral performance, the party argues, suppresses minority political viewpoints and restricts democratic competition.
Citing Article 77(a) of the Constitution, which recognizes free competition of ideas through political parties as the essence of democracy, the LPP argues that the law encourages the emergence of a de facto two-party system and undermines political pluralism.
“Section 5A reduces political competition and tends toward the creation of a one-party or two-party system, which the Constitution expressly forbids,” the filing states.
The party further argues that the law conflicts with Article 5(a) of the Constitution, which requires the government to encourage broad citizen participation in governance. Rather than expanding democratic participation, the LPP says, the provision excludes political organizations based solely on electoral outcomes.
In its prayer for relief, the LPP is asking the court to declare Section 5A “void ab initio” for being inconsistent with Articles 1, 5(a), 11(b) and (c), 17, 77(a), 78, 79, 80, and 81 of the Constitution.
The petition was filed through Gongloe & Associates, Inc., in association with the Public Interest Law Office, and is signed by a legal team that includes Cllr. Tiawan S. Gongloe, Cllr. Philip Y. Gongloe, Cllr. Momolu G. Kandakai, Cllr. Daouda M. Keita, and several other attorneys.
The case comes amid growing debate over the future of Section 5A.
During his confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Autonomous Agencies on May 28, NEC Chairperson-designate Jonathan Weedor vowed to enforce the provision against parties that failed to meet the legal threshold in the 2023 elections.
“We will uphold that to the fullest in consistency with the law,” Weedor told lawmakers, noting that the amended elections law bars political parties and candidates who perform poorly from contesting certain future elections.
Meanwhile, the LPP is not alone in seeking to overturn the provision.
River Cess County Senator Bill Twehway has introduced legislation titled the “Democratic Pluralism and Electoral Inclusion Amendment Act”, which seeks to repeal Chapter 5A of the Amended Elections Law.
Submitting the bill during a regular Senate session on June 4, Senator Twehway argued that the current law creates “artificial political monopoly for established political parties” and imposes state-enforced exclusion on citizens seeking political participation.
According to him, the proposed amendment is intended to strengthen Liberia’s peace, expand democratic space, and safeguard the constitutional rights of all Liberians.
“I am introducing this bill to correct historical and structural imbalances within our electoral framework. Specifically, this amendment seeks to permanently repeal the highly restrictive two-percent vote-threshold penalty introduced in Chapter 5A of the 2014 Amended Elections Law,” Twehway said.
The senator argued that the existing provision does not protect democracy but instead limits it by silencing regional, minority, and emerging political voices.
“This provision creates an artificial political monopoly for established parties and forces ordinary Liberians to vote out of fear of wasting their ballots rather than according to their true convictions,” he said.
Twehway maintained that genuine democracy thrives on inclusion rather than exclusion and warned that restricting political participation based on election results could undermine the country’s democratic development.
The outcome of both the court challenge and the proposed legislative repeal could significantly shape the future of Liberia’s political landscape and determine whether smaller parties retain access to the country’s electoral process.
