“Rule of Law Under Attack!”, Senator Chea Protests -As Senate Recognizes Majority Bloc

MONROVIA – Within the National Legislature, the Senate, popularly known as “the Upper House”, is considered the citadel of elders where decisions reached from the House of Representatives in the interest of the electorates are often forwarded for concurrence. But according to one of the legal minds within the House of Elders, the decision taken on Tuesday to recognize the Majority Bloc, just because President Joseph Boakai has recognized them based on the legal opinion of his Attorney General, speaks volume about the rule of law and shows that democracy is truly under attack.

Speaking his mind without fear or favor, Sinoe County Senator Augustine Chea who happens to also Chair the Senate Judiciary Committee, says Liberia is heading for sad days, when the senate must now kowtow to the executive branch in accepting an opinion emanating from an official of the executive which favors a party to the present legislative conflict brewing on Capitol Hill.

“I was clear in the Plenary today about my rejection of the decision taken by the Senate. It’s a sad day for our country. It’s a sad day for the rule of law. The rule of law is seriously under attack in our country. I was kind of disappointed today when the Senate reached that decision,” Cllr. Chea stated emphatically.

Providing a background to the senate’s involvement in the legislative crisis, Senator Chea said the Senate had earlier reached a decision to mediate in the leadership crisis within the House of Representatives during a consultative meeting.

“One of the items for the consultative meetings was the crisis at the House of Representatives, and how could we as elders or Senate continue our engagement with the two factions. And there were very good suggestions as to how we could proceed. What we agreed initially was to continue with the posture with which we started as a Senate. And that posture is that of mediation. So, we appointed a specialized committee headed by Senator Gbehzonghar Findley of Grand Bassa County to lead the Senate’s engagement with the House of Representatives. They have not reported to us as to their findings. So, when the matter was brought up for discussion, the majority opinion was that we continue this posture of mediation and negotiation, so we help in finding a resolution to this crisis that has beset the lower House for quite some time now.

“That was the position, until later on, one of the Senators brought to our attention that the president has recognized the Majority Bloc. When we asked why, the Senator said because this was this opinion by the Attorney General who is the Minister of Justice interpreting the opinion of the Supreme Court, and that interpretation was in favor of the Majority Bloc. And therefore, the President recognized the Majority Bloc.

“Then the discussion started all over again, and went away from our previous position of maintaining our neutrality and moving forward with our mediation and negotiations. Back and forth, suggestions were made that once the president has recognized the Majority Bloc, we too should do so.

“In the first place, whatever opinion provided by the Minister of Justice is his understanding of the Supreme Court’s decision. It is not the Supreme Court’s opinion. I have my own understanding. I am the legal counsel for the Senate for the matter. I head the legal committee of the Senate. That man advises the executive branch of the government. In the first place, he is not supposed to interpret the Supreme Court’s opinion to be his opinion. I did my own interpretation, which is a correct interpretation of how the Supreme Court interpreted the Constitution, particularly Article 33 and 49. I provided my own insight on that, which any independent minded will look at and say is correct.

“When they asked us to vote, I called them to order. I said, in the first place, we are in a consultation. We are not in plenary. We are supposed to make decisions in Plenary. The fact that we are not in Plenary, we cannot vote on this matter. So let’s go to Plenary before the vote. The Majority had their day. They said no, they will have their day. I was on record saying no, that I will support it, and it should not be the opinion of the Senate. Then I will do an opinion for the Senate to follow.

“That’s how we left it and went to Session. I was away for a while. Before I got to the Chamber, I heard that the President Pro Tempore had already announced that the Senate had taken a decision to support the Majority Bloc. That’s why I stood and said, even though I was not here, but I maintain my position as the official legal counsel, the chairperson on the committee on judiciary of the Senate, that no, we had proceeded wrongly, and we should nullify,” Senator Chea further lamented.

Liberian taking the wrong path

The Senate Chair on the Judiciary Committee went further to say that the decision taken by the elders could lead the country down the wrong path. He said the interference from the executive branch into the current legislative crisis wherein the President has already taken side is exemplary of the international community’s cognizance of Liberia’s flagrant flouting of the rule of law.

“We are proceeding wrongly as a country. We were just debating that in our chatroom, about the Gallup polls that were released the other day. Liberia ranked very low on law and order. Very poor rating for Liberia. Law and order is being undermined in this country. It’s a sad day for the rule of law, to proceed the way we are proceeding. To say because the president recognized the people so we should recognize them. Or is it because the Attorney General has provided his opinion so it’s the decision of the Supreme Court? No! It’s wrong. We can’t do that. The Minister of Justice does not advise us. Even the opinion he provided the president, it’s not the opinion of the Supreme Court. That is his own understanding of the law. And I have a contrary opinion on that, which is correct, which I wrote on my Facebook page, as to the correct interpretation of the Supreme Court’s opinion. But he did something contrary, a 360-degree turnabout, which our colleagues thought we should follow, and I said no, we will be on the page in history if we did it.

“The decision they took was that they will work with the Majority Bloc because the issue of the budget and everything was under consideration. So, to whom do we work when it comes to the budget discussion? Do we work with the Majority or the Minority?

Today, we did not act like the elders that the Liberian people have been looking up to the Senate to be. We have disappointed our people. It’s a day for the rule of law. Senator Nathaniel McGill of Margibi and I were the ones who outrightly rejected that decision.

“Yes, this is a democracy. But for a democracy to be strong and enduring and sustainable, that democracy must be supported by the rule of law. The rule of the law is the foundation of any democratic government. If you put the rule of law to one side, then you are inviting chaos, you are inviting lawlessness. Anybody can do anything they please. We have a separation of powers. We are a separate and distinct branch of the government. Yes, we coordinate, but we maintain our separate identity.  So, we cannot say because the president recognized the Majority Bloc, we should recognize them. We have a committee on judiciary that should advise the senate on these kinds of matters. Instead of doing that, we proceeded wrongly,” Senator Chea cautioned.

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