Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0220/02206.txt

Text File | 1991-06-25 | 29KB | 472 lines

$Unique_ID{COW02206}
$Pretitle{238}
$Title{Liberia
Chapter 4A.   Government and Politics}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Jean R. Tartter}
$Affiliation{HQ, Department of the Army}
$Subject{government
constitution
president
legislature
new
executive
political
liberia
military
system}
$Date{1984}
$Log{Executive Mansion*0220601.scf
Figure 10.*0220602.scf
Figure 11.*0220603.scf
}
Country:     Liberia
Book:        Liberia, A Country Study
Author:      Jean R. Tartter
Affiliation: HQ, Department of the Army
Date:        1984

Chapter 4A.   Government and Politics

[See Executive Mansion: The Executive Mansion, official residence of Liberia's
head of state]

     Under the eyes of a transitional military regime pledged to the
restoration of civilian rule, the outlines of Liberia's second republic were
taking shape in late 1984. If hopes for the new government were realized, it
would be far more democratic than its predecessors, which since the
mid-nineteenth century had functioned as instruments for the perpetuation of a
political aristocracy drawn from Americo-Liberian settler families.

     The end of the first republic had come on April 12, 1980, when a group of
soldiers of tribal origins broke into the Executive Mansion and killed
President William R. Tolbert. The military coup d'etat was initially popular
with the majority of the public. Discontent among the indigenous population
had been building for many years over the inequities of Liberian society and
political life. During the modern era under William V.S. Tubman (president
from 1944 until 1971) and Tolbert (president from 1971 until 1980), some
efforts were made to integrate native Africans into the political fabric of
the nation. Few meaningful changes resulted, however. The ruling elite
remained indifferent to the plight of ordinary people, especially the rural
poor. Economic hardship and outrage over corruption in the Tolbert
administration were transmuted into demonstrations and rioting in 1979 that
left the old regime shaken and in disarray. Efforts to reform itself did not
go far enough to meet the insistent demands for fundamental change before the
coup occurred a year later.

     The toppling of the Tolbert regime brought to an end one of the most
durable governmental systems in Africa. The Liberian constitution, in
existence since 1847, had been among the oldest of the world's political
charters still in force. Although modeled after the United States system of
three separate and coordinate branches of government-executive, legislative,
and judicial-the dynamics of the system as practiced in Liberia involved a
concentration of power in the presidency. Approval of the president's program
by the bicameral legislature was pro forma. Political expression was generally
conducted within the framework of the True Whig Party, of which the president
was titular head. Opposition was sporadic, weak, and liable to suppression by
the government.

     The ringleaders of the coup, all young enlisted men lacking experience
beyond their military service, suspended the constitution, did away with the
normal instruments of government, and formed the People's Redemption Council
to carry the revolution into practice. The council had no defined political
orientation. Its chairman, Master Sergeant Samuel Kanyon Doe, became head of
state and presided over a predominantly civilian cabinet of ministers.
Included in the cabinet were representatives of two groups in opposition
during the first republic as well as several former True Whigs. As time
passed, the former opposition figures-all socialist in outlook-were found to
be incompatible by Doe and were dropped from the cabinet. Representation of
former True Whigs, by contrast, was strengthened.

     A year after coming to power, the military government responded to
domestic and international urgings by taking the first steps to restore
civilian rule. A 25-member commission was formed to draft a new constitution.
After careful work with input invited from all segments of the public and
revision by an elected advisory group, the new Constitution was overwhelmingly
approved by popular vote. Registration of new political parties followed,
preparatory to presidential and legislative elections scheduled for October
1985 and the installation of the new government in January 1986. The launching
of parties and the revival of political partisanship under rules imposed by
the military regime became the initial test of Doe's and the nation's
readiness to accept the restraints and compromises of a truly democratic
system.

     A further stage in the process was completed in July 1984, when the
People's Redemption Council was replaced by the Interim National Assembly. Not
surprisingly, Doe himself was to become one of the candidates for president.
Other political notables formed new parties to compete against Doe.

     The new Constitution offered a solid framework for the introduction of
representative government and political opportunity for all citizens. The
difficult transition from autocratic military rule to constitutional
democracy, if successful, promised to be among the most important achievements
of Liberia's history as an independent nation. Nevertheless, Doe's extreme
sensitivity to criticism and his harassment of rival politicians raised doubts
about the pledge to allow free elections and to respect their results.

Constitutional Development

     The constitution of 1847, drafted by American law professor Simon
Greenleaf of Harvard College, served as the basis and ideal for the government
of Liberia until its suspension in April 1980. The constitution was patterned
largely upon United States systems, that of the federal government and of
several states. It embodied three distinct and coordinate branches of
government, a bicameral legislature, a stringent amendment process, and a Bill
of Rights.

     Although eighteenth-century French and American political theories served
as the foundation for the Liberian venture in self-government, the practical
circumstances of the settlers' lives were ill-adapted to the kind of democracy
their formal instruments envisaged. The actual structure and practices of
government evolved in a manner that differed markedly from the theoretical
model. The executive branch became dominant over the legislature and the
Supreme Court. Power was centralized in the national government; all local
officials were appointed from the top, and opportunities for local initiative
were almost nonexistent. Individual protections embedded in the Bill of Rights
had little reality for anyone, least of all the tribal majority.

     The choice of centralism rather than federalism has been entrenched in
the history of the country. Although the United States model was indeed
federal, the several state constitutions that contributed ideas and wording,
especially the Massachusetts Constitution, were not. Moreover, the conditions
faced by the settlers demanded, so they felt, the utmost cohesion for a small
group surrounded by unknown and often hostile people who were native to the
place.

     Decree No. 2, imposed by the military authorities on April 24, 1980,
suspended the constitution of 1847 and the three branches of government. The
decree provided that all legislative and executive power would be vested in
the People's Redemption Council (PRC) but that other laws of the republic
would remain in force. Subsequent decrees reconstituted the court system,
confiscated the property of certain citizens and organizations associated with
the former government, prohibited labor unrest or strikes, and outlawed all
political activity.

     One year after the imposition of military rule, the National Constitution
Commission, composed of Liberian citizens representing a broad spectrum of
political and social interests, was appointed to draft a new constitution. Its
chairman was Amos Sawyer, a dean at the University of Liberia and an opponent
of the prerevolutionary government. The commission traveled throughout
Li