By Garmah Never Lomo, garmahlomo@gmail.com
The former Dean of the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law at the University of Liberia, Negbalee Warner has strongly criticized the voters trucking practice reportedly being carried out around Liberia as the Biometric Voter Registration continues, ahead of the October 10 presidential and legislative elections.
Voter trucking is the practice in which people leave the areas they reside and go to other areas or counties to register to vote in large and small groups under the auspices of politicians or political aspirants.
As he mounted the podium to deliver his keynote address for the Law Day program in Monrovia over the weekend, Cllr. Warner highlighted the voter trucking situation that is ongoing and the Supreme Court’s recent ruling into the CPP petition for prohibition against the voter registration in the absence of redrawing up of constituencies in the aftermath of the recently ended national population and housing census.
Cllr. Negbalee Warner
Lawyers in the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Ministerial Complex conference hall looked anxious to hear Cllr. Warner speak his mind.
The former Dean of Liberia’s only Law school described the mass voters trucking of citizens across the country as a form of modern day slavery and human trafficking that needs urgent Judicial attention to mitigate and prevent future electoral violence.
In his keynote address at the Law Day celebrations held by Liberian National Bar Association (LNBA), which was made under the theme: “Episode of electoral violence and prospect’s for Constitutional democracy”, Cllr. Warner said that voters trucking is a serious threat to Liberia’s constitutional democracy and elections.
Cllr. Warner, who is head of the Heritage Partners Law firm said: “I will discuss at least three areas of which I believe we lawyers, the bench and the bar have a critical role to play in supporting other stakeholders to promoting integrity, and legality of the upcoming elections as some possible ways of preventing electoral violence and enhancing Constitutional democracy. The first is combating voter trucking that decreased votes. The next is illegal campaign financing and lastly, the upholding of the principal of one man, one vote,” Cllr. Warner stated.
“Trucking of voting is nothing but a trafficking of voters which is part of human trafficking. It’s also a form of modern day slavery which is prohibited by Article 12 of the Liberian Constitution. Article 12 of our Constitution provides that no person must be held in slavery. The sooner we stop and see trucking of voters as an act of human trafficking, and modern day slavery the sooner we will appreciate the need to deal with it urgently,” Cllr. Warner warned.
According to him, voters trucking, illegal campaign financing and the absence of the principal of one man, one voter undermine electoral integrity and promote violence which is against constitutional democracy.
The Commercial law specialist recommended to the Liberian government, the Legislature and the Supreme Court bench that in order for voters trucking to be mitigated, it must be ensured that trafficking is less profitable by prohibiting carrying of phones or other electronic devices in voting places that is likely to be used to take photo to complete the balance.
To also deal with this, the former Law School Dean has recommended that Liberia should establish criminals Procedure for change of constituencies which is deal with by the constitution.
“The right change of constituencies is supposed to be dealt with by the Constitution of Liberia. Article 80 (c) of the constitution provides that citizens shall have the right to change his voting constituencies as may be prescribed by the legislature. May I seek a legislatives framework and the normalizing of voter trucking is an affront to Constitutional principal, of a free, fair process,” he recommended.
According to him, it’s an open secret that the phenomenal of transporting voters from one place to another for the purpose of having them register and voter in the areas for the transport is wild spread.
Cllr. Warner, who is also the chairman of the board of Directors of Ecobank Liberia, explained that this has been accepted by Liberian but why need to be noted is that such process is unlawful, unfair and has the propensity to cause election violence.
He believes that trucking of voter by its nature is at its request of and for the benefit of the transporter and it’s not much different from human trafficking.
“Voter trucking is not much different from human trafficking. Human trafficking is defined as the illegal transfer, transporting and hearing of a person with the intent to hold the person captive, for or exploit the person. The key elements to human trafficking are three, transportating, exploiting or holding the person and for the purpose of the person service or value. It can be concluded that each of the elements of human trafficking are present in the current mass trucking and transportation of person’s for obtaining their services. This is intended to have them register and later return to vote for their candidate that transported them,” Cllr. Warner asserted.
He disclosed that once may argued that the practice doesn’t equate to trafficking in person’s in that those who are transported do agree and are not held captive for otherwise exploitation.
“To response to that, is to consider first that consent is not the defense to the offense of trafficking in person because if it was the case we could not have had problem with a poor person being transported to donate their bodies parts. Even a consent my friend, was the defense, It should also be noted that the law focuses on effective and free consent not consent that is influence by monetary rewards or a promise to please the public.
“Obviously, a significant number of the voters who are truck have no effective choice in being transported. If there were any doubt, about the person or absence of choice of evidence will be the addition or independent practice whereby the transporter reportedly seized the voting cards of the transported person and also required proof that the transported person voted for him or her before paying the person the balance before the remaining consideration” Cllr. Warner explained.
“I will think that person’s seizing someone voter registration card is not different from a person seizing a person passport in human trafficking cases. However, I also believe that the practice of acquiring proof of voting is sufficient evidences of the person being exploited of their voting services,” Cllr. Warner concluded.
After delivering his speech and walked toward his seat, Chief Justice Sie-A-Nyene G. Yuoh and Associate Justice Yamie Quiqui Gbeisay as well as other platform guests walked toward him and shook Cllr. Warner’s hand.
The Law Day program, which was graced by many lawyers, including the chief Justice Sie-A-Nyene G. Yuoh and members of the diplomatic corps, seeks to reflect on the achievement of the legal sector and the challenges that needs to be addressed.