By: Togba-Nah Tipoteh
Many countries around the world have individuals and entities who engage in the practice of abusing the Rule of Law. This abuse is usually done with the use of money to bribe someone. At times, it is used through appointments, as seen in personalized appointments, to have decisions made in the appointers’ favor.
Appointments in the appointers’ favor can be seen in many parts of the world. Consider these examples. In the United States of America (USA), a Judge is appointed, and he rules in favor of the appointer two days before the appointer is to take part in an electoral process. Members of the Supreme Court are appointed, and they make decisions in favor of the appointer. Back home in Liberia, most appointments are not based on records but on popularity and ethnicity.
No wonder Liberia thrives poorly on Westernization and poverty generation. Members of the National Legislature have access to at least LD200,000 a day, and their foreign business partners have access to at least LD300,000,000 a day, while nearly all the people of Liberia suffer with access to at most less than LD300 a day (The Annual Reports of the CBL, LISGIS, MFDP, MCI, WB, IMF, ADB, and UNDP).
With such bad accessibility, the people of Liberia declare that Liberia is headed in the wrong direction (Afrobarometer, 2022). How can Liberia be made to get in the right direction? Liberia can be made to get in the right direction through raising awareness of the people in ways that motivate them to take action within the Rule of Law. Such actions are non-violent and motivate people to reduce corruption in the electoral system.
It is only through the transformation of the prevailing unfair electoral system into the enduring fair electoral system that the electoral system can be changed and removed from poverty generation to poverty alleviation. Only through the transformation of the electoral system can persons with good records get elected to bring in the Justice system, the indispensable ingredient for Peace and Progress in Liberia and any other country.
