The perennial interparty squabble within the opposition Liberty Party might soon be a thing of the past, as the contending factions met last Friday at the Supreme Court for the third time to settle their differences. According to a top Liberty Party insider who attended the meeting and disclosed details with The Analyst, the two parties – the Nyonblee Karngar Lawrence faction and the Musa Hassan Bility side, albeit with a little standoff, finally agreed on two of the three core issues that underpinned the LP constitution alteration allegation.
The bane of contention within the LP, hinging on which of the LP Constitution should be reviewed and corrected by the two sides meeting at the Supreme Court was settled, with the groups reviewing the January 2021 Constitution, and incorporating amendments from the Farmington Agreement.
The finally agreed copy of the LP Constitution was then given to all sides with the soft copy given to LP Secretary General Martin Kollah to prepare it for signing. The body agreed that all sides hold on to what they have and use the pdf copy of the January 2021 Constitution.
Earlier, Counselor Powo Hilton from the Musa Bility LP faction had indicated that the Farmington Agreement was clear on three key issues, namely: the role of the Political Leader, the role of the National Chairman and the filing procedures at the National Elections Commission.
Executive Committee member Debar Allen asked that the body also establish the actual constitution to be reviewed, because there are different constitutions from both parties.
Chairman Bility, it is reported, notified that the filing process at the National Elections Commission has been dealt with already by both parties as laid out in the Farmington Agreement.
“We (both sides) went to the NEC already and the NEC informed us that the filing was done properly by the SG and National Chairman,” Mr. Bility stated.
As for Senator Darius Dillon, he asked that the review process to focus on the January 2021 Constitution, and not the corrections made in Ganta, as mentioned by Cllr. Powo.
It was at this juncture that Senator Karngar-Lawrence asked for continuous discussion on the way forward, as she agreed with Sen. Dillon that it was her understanding the January 2021 Constitution should be the one to be reviewed.
As discussions continued over which Constitution should be used to guide the deliberations, as well the filing process at the NEC, Associate Justice Jamesetta Wolokollie was invited into the meeting to clarify.
Upon her arrival at the meeting, Justice Wolokollie indicated that she had seen and read the corrections that the two parties were talking about as agreed in the Farmington Agreement, and did not see anything contrary, other than the fact that the both parties had agreed to the FA corrections.
Associate Justice Wolokollie further indicated that she had earlier told the two sides to review the January 2021 Constitution, and not the December 2021 Constitution.
According to our Liberty Party source, Chairman Bility then clarified that it is the corrections in January 2021 that the two parties made in December 2021 after the Farmington Agreement.
“But then what’s the problem, l advised you guys to look at the corrections together and agree on one document. As for the argument on the submission (who should submit by law), we just read the Farmington Agreement but let’s hold it until I return from court,” Associate Justice Wolokollie is quoted as saying, before leaving the meeting to attend to other urgent court matters.
Following her departure, the both parties settled down to discuss who signs the reviewed Constitution. Cllr. Powo Hilton argued that it is only the Chairman and SG of the party that are authorized to sign the Constitution by the NEC law, and as precedent in the party, including the signing of all LP constitutions.
However, Cllr. Carlos Smith and Sen. Lawrence indicated that the Political Leader should be one of the signatures to the Constitution, even if she should just attest to the document; but Cllr. Powo Hilton vehemently insisted that there is no law or precedent that allows the PL to sign, thereby creating a standoff in the discussion.
The LP source said while discussions were ongoing, the ruling in the CPP Vs UP/ALP case was rendered and the motion to drop the charges against Mr. Cummings was filed. Upon hearing the news from their respective sources, both parties started walking in and out of the meeting which eventually led to the meeting adjourning abruptly.
According to the National Elections Commission law, “within ten days following the convention, a political party shall submit to the Commission a list of its national and local officials, including those of the national executive committee indicating the political sub-division that each of them represents Said submission shall be under the signature of both the chairperson and secretary general of the convention committee.
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