IPNEWS: Rivercess County Senator Bill T. Twehway has formally submitted the “Democratic Pluralism and Electoral Inclusion Amendment Act” to the Liberian Senate.
The sweeping electoral reform bill seeks to abolish the controversial “2% vote rule,” which bars any political party or independent candidate failing to secure at least 2% of the national vote from contesting in the next two election cycles.
The bill has officially passed its first reading in the Senate and is scheduled for its second reading.
Senator Twehway argues that the current provision, found in Chapter 5A of Liberia’s New Elections Law, creates a 12-year political exclusion period. He asserts this tilts the playing field toward established political entities and marginalizes smaller or emerging parties.]
The Senator emphasizes that ballot access should be a permanent, inalienable constitutional right rather than a metric revoked by past numerical performance.
Senator Twehway Supporters argue that repealing the law will discourage voters from choosing candidates out of a fear of “wasting their ballots,” fostering a more diverse and healthier competition of ideas.
Expanded Electoral Transparency Measures
Beyond repealing the threshold, the proposed legislation modernizes Chapter 4, Section 4.10 of the electoral laws to expand the rights and safety of election observers to Guarantees accredited political party agents and independent observers absolute rights to physical proximity within polling rooms; Safeguards observers from arbitrary removal or expulsion by polling staff. And Grants observers the unrestricted right to digitally record and verify vote tally sheets.
According to Twehway, these transparency updates aim to build absolute public trust in the ballot box, shifting political grievances away from public unrest and into rule-based, verifiable resolution systems.
Following its introduction, Senator Wellington Geevon Smith filed a motion to accept the submission as its first reading.
The Liberian Senate Plenary accepted the bill, scheduling its second reading for detailed consideration. Concurrently, a similar push for political inclusion is happening in the House of Representatives, where Representative Musa Hassan Bility introduced the parallel “Political Inclusion and Democratic Participation Amendment Act” to similarly end election law sanctions on underperforming parties.
Contrary to this proposition, Cllr. Moriah Yeakula (National Vice Chair for Legal Affairs of the Alternative National Congress) has publicly expressed a differing or nuanced legal perspective on the “Democratic Pluralism and Electoral Inclusion Amendment Act” introduced by River Cess County Senator Bill Twehway. Senator Twehway’s proposed bill, submitted to the Liberian Senate, explicitly seeks to permanently repeal the controversial 2% vote-threshold penalty contained in Chapter 5A of the 2014 Amended Elections Law.
The Core Conflict
Senator Twehway argues that the 2% rule acts as a “death sentence” that bars underperforming political parties and independent candidates from participating in the next two subsequent election cycles (effectively a 12-year ban). His bill aims to expand the democratic space and protect constitutional rights by promoting absolute political inclusion.
As a high-profile lawyer and an active voice in Liberian political accountability, Cllr. Yeakula has publicly analyzed electoral frameworks from a strict constitutional standpoint. Her divergence often focuses on ensuring that any push toward democratic inclusion does not undermine long-term political accountability or result in an unsustainable proliferation of fragile political parties.
Cllr. Argues that under the existing 2014 law, failure to secure 2% of the national vote or win a single seat in the Legislature strips a party of its nomination rights.
She futher states that proponents of Twehway’s bill, including figures like Tiawan Gongloe, claim the threshold is discriminatory. Conversely, legal pragmatists argue that thresholds keep the ballot orderly and encourage smaller parties to merge rather than fracturing the national vote.
Senator Twehway’s bill also includes provisions to drastically expand poll monitoring powers and guarantee candidate observers the unrestricted right to digitally record and verify tally sheets, which faces separate scrutiny regarding logistical feasibility and polling room security.
(2)Paragraph 5A(1) does not apply to a political party that at the time of the election had a member continuing to hold office as President or as a member of the Legislature.
