CRC, Civil Society and Political Parties meet
Photo Credit: CRC
The Constitution Review Committee is continuing its efforts to have a people’s driven process that would lead to the successful conclusion of its mandate.
On Friday, August 16, 2013, the CRC Subcommittee on Civil Society Organizations met with Civil Society Groups to share views on the process. The CRC met with Political Parties on Monday, August 19, 2013 as part of its consultation strategy.
The consultations are intended to have registered political parties and other stakeholders fully participate in the process and owning same.
Speaking during the meeting, CRC’s Chairperson Counselor Gloria Musu-Scott said the consultations are aimed at cultivating partnership with registered political parties and auxiliary groups in the review process and to enable political parties do an overview of the 1986 Constitution and recommend provisions for amendments as well as increasing political parties understanding of the constitution review process.
The Chairperson said such interactive meetings would enable them to give briefings to their partisans and other political actors about CRC activities for them to develop a sense of transparency, inclusion and participation in the review of the Liberian Constitution.
Cllr. Scott told the political parties’ leaders that in spite of the financial challenges facing the Committee couple with limited timetable of reporting in April 2014, the Committee could not just sit back but to kick start the process by carrying out gradual deployment of suggestion boxes, distribution of copies of the 1986 constitution around Monrovia which will be extended in the counties in the weeks ahead.
She informed the political parties that referendum is expected in 2015 but before that time in April of the same year the legislators should have some proposals on their desks.
The CRC’s Chairperson said with that doe in April 2014, the Committee should have made its report to the president on all the proposals gather from the people.
In response, the political parties who were given 50 copies each of the 1986 Constitution have expressed their desire to work with the Committee.
The stakeholders’ believed that constitutional making is one of the cardinals in the ongoing reform process as well as sustaining the country’s emerging democracy.
The meeting brought tougher 16 political parties including the National Democratic Coalition (NDC), the National Democratic Party of Liberia (NDPL), the Liberia Reconstruction Party (LRP), the Alliance for Peace and Democracy (APD-United People’s Party), the Citizens United Party (CUP) and the Grassroots Democratic Party of Liberia(GDPL).
Others are the National Vision Party of Liberia (NATVIPOL), the True Whig Party (TWP), the Freedom Alliance Party of Liberia (FAPL), the National Patriotic Party (NPP), the Liberia National Union (LINU), the Alternative National Congress (ANC), the Progressive Democratic Party (PRODEMP), the Original Congress Party of Liberia (OCPOL) and the Union of Liberians Democratic (ULD). Meanwhile, a 5-man committee has been set-up by the registered political parties to make recommendations to the CRC.