Liberia: Presidential Appointment in The Eleventh Hour of Transition

By J. Patrick Flomo

The transfer of power (to paraphrase Theodore White) – the power to marshal and mobilize, the power to send men and women to kill and be killed, the power to tax and destroy, the power to create and the responsibility to do so, into the hands of one man or woman is awesome and the process should not be left to the whims of whoever is in power at the moment.  This 54th Legislature must therefore enact legislation in order to ensure that the process is adequately safeguarded at all times. 

Due to the silence of the Constitution regarding presidential transitions, as well as the absence of a Statutory Act to guide the transitional process in Liberia, the incumbent has constitutional rights to appoint and nominate—even at the eleventh hour before the end of his or her presidential term. But is that apropos? An epoch of a Constitutional Republic entails the sacred and ritualistic transfer of power, which cannot be left to the whims of those who happen to be in power in any given moment. There comes a time when it is we, the PEOPLE, who must decide. Now is the time to act! 

A presidential transition in a Constitutional Republic refers to the transfer of the awesome power of the Republic from the incumbent president to the president-elect.  I would describe this period as one of anxiety, uncertainty, frustration, and at times ecstasy. It is a period when the Republic’s constitutional authority seems to be in fog because the incumbent still has the authority to make decisions—but at what level?  Would he or she be able to order the military into action, or appoint a position of significant importance that would need senate confirmation?

President Weah’s nomination of Justice Minister Frank Musa Dean to replace Joseph Nagbe as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, at the 11th hour of his presidency, has raised a question of presidential constitutional power in transition.  Liberia does not have an official act that stipulates how every step of the transition should be exercised.  There is no ambiguity in the Constitution when it comes to George Weah’s right to make an appointment, since it is silent on the matter; however, is it completely appropriate for him to take action at this time?  If the Senate does not hold confirmation hearings for the nominee, what happens then?  As a result of the actions of such drama, there is sure to be controversy and constitutional debate in the future.

The exercise of electing a new government can be conflicting, because emotions tend to take precedence over rationality. Without statutory law to govern transitional protocol, the transition is sure to become problematic. The razor-thin victory John F. Kennedy had over Richard Nixon in the 1960 presidential election caused Congress to create the Presidential Transitional Act of 1963 to ensure smooth transition.  Since Liberia does not have a similar act, Ellen John-Sirleaf had to issue an Executive Order 91 in order to guide the process. During the transition from George Weah to Boakai, a document known as Executive Order 123 was issued by Weah in 2023. 

Despite learning in 2017 that Liberia does not have a Presidential Transition Act and, despite knowing that there will be a presidential election in 2023, the lawmakers have failed to pass such a law.  In my opinion, this is an absurdity of legislative incompetence of an unprecedented magnitude. 

For the first time in more than a century, Liberia held its first multi-party election in 1985.  As a result, the era of one-party elections had come to an end.  My astonishment is that we did not take into account the fact that there will be multi-party elections hereafter, and the transition of the presidency will become an integral part of the ritual of our political system. In 2017, when the outgoing president had to issue an Executive Order to facilitate the transition, it should have raised concern in the Legislature that this is not a prudent way to transfer the awesome power of the Republic from one government to another. It strikes me as hypocritical that any member of the Legislature who had served for more than 10 years are questioning Weah’s nomination at the 11th hour of his tenure. 

Since the Constitution of Liberia does not address the question of presidential transition, the people of Liberia look forward to the incoming 55th Legislature bringing it up in the next legislative session for discussion and debate.  It is necessary for us, the people, to take part in this debate in order to exert pressure on the legislature so that the bill can be passed. 

  A Constitutional Republic such as Liberia, where power is ceremonially transferred from the incumbent to the president-elect, is an epochal event in the course of all elections.  As the state of transition unfolds, you can get a sense as to how the incoming government will begin its work from the moment it takes office. 

The question of presidential nominations or appointments during the period of transition should

be at the forefront of the debate—if and when the 54th Legislature takes up the question. 

The author J. Patrick Flomo resides in Columbus, Ohio. USA

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