Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0220/02207.txt

Text File | 1991-06-25 | 41KB | 639 lines

$Unique_ID{COW02207}
$Pretitle{238}
$Title{Liberia
Chapter 4B.   Elections}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Jean R. Tartter}
$Affiliation{HQ, Department of the Army}
$Subject{doe
government
prc
military
county
political
court
chiefs
members
cases}
$Date{1984}
$Log{Temple of Justice*0220701.scf
Samuel Doe*0220702.scf
}
Country:     Liberia
Book:        Liberia, A Country Study
Author:      Jean R. Tartter
Affiliation: HQ, Department of the Army
Date:        1984

Chapter 4B.   Elections

     If plans for the return of civilian rule were adhered to, elections for
the presidency, the Senate, and the House of Representatives would be held on
the second Sunday in October 1985. These would be the first national elections
since 1975, when Tolbert was elected to an eight-year term as an unopposed
candidate. It was announced that Tolbert received 868,000 votes, representing
participation by over 80 percent of the electorate. If accurate, this would
have meant a substantially stronger public endorsement than the 714,000 votes
claimed by Tubman in the previous election. Candidates for the legislature (65
representatives and nine senators) and for mayoral (14) and city councillor
(122) posts were also on the ballots in 1975. Tolbert, who had served as
vice president for 20 years, had been filling out the term of Tubman, whose
death came less than three months after reelection to a seventh term.

     Contrary to previous practice, the new Constitution intended that
elections would be contested by opposing political parties. It proclaimed that
"the essence of democracy is free competition of ideas expressed by political
parties and political groups as well as by individuals." Accordingly, it
declared that laws, decrees, or other measures that might have the effect of
creating a one-party state would be unconstitutional. An Elections Commission
was provided for to register parties, supervise financing of campaigns,
declare official results, and investigate complaints. The commission would
have the power to reapportion constituencies after a national census to ensure
nearly equal populations in every constituency. Political parties must have
500 members in each of six counties. Subsequently, the government added a
requirement that political parties demonstrate financial strength of $50,000
in cash and $100,000 in securities. The parties' constitutions, which would be
filed with the commission, must provide for the democratic election of
officers and ensure the election of officers from as many regions and ethnic
groupings as possible. Parties must be open to all citizens without regard to
religion, sex, or ethnic background.

     Although the Elections Commission would be autonomous, the new
Constitution does not include unambiguous safeguards to prevent it from
falling under the influence of the executive or a single preeminent party.
Such vital features as the methods of appointment and terms of office of
commission members have been left to subsequent enactments by the legislature.
Registration would be denied to parties that, by reason of their aims or
behavior of their adherents, seek to impair or abolish the free democratic
society of Liberia or endanger its existence. Depending on the interpretation
placed on this clause by the commission in particular instances, the clause
could be applied in a manner calculated to neutralize legitimate opposition
groups. Statements by Doe expressing antipathy to socialist or other
ideologies viewed as repugnant to Liberian values heightened concern that
movements unpalatable to the military authorities might be rejected.

Judicial System

     Under the first republic, the judiciary had at its apex a Supreme Court,
beneath which were subordinate circuit courts having general jurisdiction, and
a variety of lower courts, including magistrate's courts, probate courts, and
justices of the peace. The Supreme Court consisted of a chief justice and four
associate justices, all appointed by the president.

[See Temple of Justice: Temple of Justice in Monrovia, the site of Liberia's
Supreme Court Courtesy Frederick Ehrenreich]

     The New Constitution scheduled to come into force in 1986 provided for a
judicial system similar to the one in effect before the imposition of military
rule in 1980. A five-member Supreme Court was decreed. It would hear final
appeals from other courts, agencies, and other authorities and would exercise
original jurisdiction in cases to which a county was a party. The Supreme
Court would be empowered to declare the invalidity of any law that is
inconsistent with the Constitution. The legislature would have the power to
establish courts subordinate to the Supreme Court and to define their
jurisdictions. The president would appoint, with the consent of the Senate,
justices of both the Supreme Court and the subordinate courts, who would not
be subject to removal (except by impeachment) until retirement at the age of
70.

     Before 1980 Liberia was divided into judicial circuits for each of the
counties except Montserrado County, where most of the legal business was
transacted, and where separate civil and criminal circuit courts were formed.
Original criminal jurisdiction in circuit courts extended to more serious
cases for which the punishment might be heavy fines or imprisonment.
Defendants could-and generally did-have their cases heard before juries.
Lesser criminal cases and civil cases in which the claims were small were
heard before magistrates in the municipalities and before justices of the
peace in rural areas. In cases of felony it was required that two magistrates
or justices of the peace sit together.

     The legal system had as its foundation Anglo-American common law,
although legislative enactments constituted the most generally applied body of
public law. The criminal code was an adaptation of the New York State criminal
code. A project of systematizing Liberian laws, begun in 1953 at Cornell
University, resulted in the Liberian Code of Laws of 1956. All statutes
enacted before adoption of the code were expressly repealed. Subsequent phases
of the Cornell project were suspended after the coup. A second body of law
based on traditional customs governed the adjudication of cases by chiefs in
which tribal practices still prevailed. The availability of magistrates and
justices of the peace in all areas of the country resulted in the tribal
courts being limited to cases of family law, agricultural and game
infractions, disputes over land use, inheritance matters, and questions of
tribal rules and traditions. Town chiefs, clan chiefs, and paramount chiefs
acted as judicial officers in addition to their administrative duties.
Decisions by these customary courts could be reviewed through the hierarchy of
chiefs to the county level, followed by administrative review by the Ministry
of Internal Affairs or, alternatively, through the statutory court system.

     A form of trial by ordeal practiced in tribal areas was based on
administration to accused persons of a brew made from the poisonous bark of
the sasswood tree. The practice was discouraged by the government but was
still performed without interference by the authorities when the suspect's
consent was obtained.

     After the military coup the Supreme Court was replaced by a six-member
body known as the People's Supreme Court. Martial law was brought into force,
and the right of habeas corpus was suspended along with other protections
embodied in the old constitution. The civilian court system, however, was
reestablished to try defendants under precoup statutes. The People's Special
Court on Theft and Related Offenses was set up by the revolutionary regime as
an executive rather than a judicial body. Persons sentenced by the special
theft court, a panel of three judges that functioned only in Monrovia, did not
have appeal rights. Civilians have also been brought before the Supreme
Military Tribunal, a panel of three uniformed officers, on charges of engaging
in political activity.

     The c