NEC Letter to Senator Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence

Senator  Karnga-Lawrence: “Our failure to be independent is affecting the country greatly."

1 3 th December 2021

RL/NEC/PTR/202/'21

Senator Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence

Political Leader

Liberty Party 19th Street, Sinkor

Monrovia, Liberia

Dear Senator Karnga-Lawrence:

I present compliments on behalf of the National Elections Commission, (NEC), and write regarding the Constitution of the Liberty Party (LP) that is on record with the Commission.

Honorable Senator, following the LP's January 22-24 2021 convention held in Gbarnga, Bong County, the LP on February 26, 2021, through its Chairman and Secretary-General, submitted its notarized 2021 constitution to the Commission, thereby replacing the LP's 2015 constitution.

Several months after the above-referenced submission, the Commission received a communication from you dated August 4, 2021, requesting a withdrawal of the LP's 2021 Constitution. On 9th August 2021, Chairman, Mr. Musa Bility, sent the Commission a letter, responding to the claims raised in your August 4, 2021 letter. Both communications were referred to the Political Affairs Section of the NEC, which subsequently invited you and Chairman Bility to a conference on 6th August 2021. At the conclusion of the conference, the NEC informed all parties that pursuant to

Section 3.3 of the Guidelines and Regulations relating to the Registration of Political Parties and Independent Candidates, the claims and counterclaims raised in yours and Mr. Bility's communications, respectively, must first be heard using the LP's internal procedures. Both parties accepted the outcome of the conference without objections.

After the conference, specifically on 20th August 2021, the Commission received another communication from you seeking to withdraw the LP's 2021 constitution.

In a response dated 23 rd August 2021, the Commission through its Political Affairs Section stated, amongst others, that "in keeping with the practice and procedure here at the NEC, when a party, especially through its Chairperson and/or Secretary-General, submits a notarized document such as a constitution to the Commission, the general presumption is that the said

Website: www.necliberia.org

document is proper and remains as such until successfully challenged in keeping with due process or amended by the Party."

On 5th October 2021, a group of Liberty Party Partisans including you as Political Leader, Senator Dillion, Debar Allen, Chairman Bility, Secretary-General Martin Kollah, and Augustine Frederick visited the Commission to essentially inquire whether the LP followed the Commission's procedure in submitting its 2021 constitution. The Legal Section reaffirmed the presumed validity of the submission as stated in our August 23, 2021 communication to you. Subsequently, on November 15, 2021, the Commission received a communication from you relative to the party's Farmington meeting, in which you stated among others that the LP has met the internal dispute requirement and on that basis, repeated your request to withdraw the LP's 2021 constitution. Thereafter, Chairman Bility sent the Commission a letter, informing the Commission that as a result of the Farmington MOU, the party was taking the same to a special convention in December 2021 in Ganta.

On 8th December 2021, the Commission received another communication from Mr. Bility in which he complained that two partisans of the Liberty Party alleged in the media that the LP, thru you, had withdrawn the LP's 2021 Constitution and replaced it with the 2015 constitution.

 Mr. Bility's communication was sent to the Political Affairs section which, upon receipt, invited you and Mr. Bility to a conference scheduled for Friday, December 10, 2021. The purpose of the conference was to ascertain whether the parties had completed the LP's internal procedures regarding the complaints and, if so, what was the outcome? You sent a letter to the Political Affairs section in that regard and Mr. Bility appeared in person for the conference. Because of your absence, the conference was not held.

Having reviewed our records, Madam Senator, I would like to take this time to reiterate the Commission's earlier statement to the LP that its 2021 notarized constitution submitted to the Commission is deemed proper and remains as such until successfully challenged in keeping with due process or via amendment by the Party.

The Commission notes that since the above referenced statement to the LP, the Commission has not received any final, non-appealable decision regarding the validity of the LP's 2021 constitution; neither has the Commission been served with an amendment done by the Party. Hence, the Commission herein informs you that the Liberty Party's 2021 notarized Constitution remains proper with the Commission until successfully challenged or amended as stated in our 23 August 2021 communication to you.

Sincerely,

cc: Mr. Musa Bility