!!!CALL FOR ACTION!!!

PETITION AGAINST DUAL CITIZENSHIP BILL FOR REFERENDUM

10,000 SIGNATURES NEEDED WITHIN NEXT 24 HOURS

I recently learned that the Dual Citizenship Bill (Bill) submitted by the President for review and approval by the Legislature was drastically changed when returned to the President for his signature. The original draft Bill DID NOT include all of the restrictions that we are hearing about. It is unknown how the amendments were included or how consensus was reached. It is unknown which lawmakers approved the Bill. What is known, however, is that the Legislature got the required 2/3 votes from lawmakers to approve the amended version of the Bill and, under our laws, this is what is required. At this point, my understanding is that there is not much that the President can do about it.

Our law requires that any action to prevent a bill from being placed on the agenda Referendum must be submitted one (1) year prior to the following election date and must have 10,000 signatures. Election is scheduled for October 5, 2020. This means that if we want to take action, we have less than 24 hours to get 10,000 signatures on a petition against this Bill and we have to submit our counter proposal to the Bill along with our petition.

Many thanks to the individual who provided this information.

I believe this delay tactic was deliberate and intentional so as to leave us option-less! But let’s not allow that to deter us!!! I am still awaiting a copy of the draft Bill and the amended Bill. However, we need to get moving.

Therefore, I am calling on Liberians, far and wide, to add their signatures to the following petition within the next 24-hours in order to meet the required constitutional timelines.

We, the undersigned:

1. Certify that we are Liberian citizens;
2. Certify that we have not been given an opportunity to review the Bill submitted;
3. Certify that we were not consulted by our lawmakers in their approval of the Bill;
4. Believe that it is our lawmakers’ duty to us as citizens to make this Bill available for our review and input;
5. Believe the amended Bill is against the spirit of the conversations and discussions that have been ongoing for many years regarding Dual Citizenship for Liberians.
6. Believe that the bill promotes a “purely protectionist” mindset instead of a mindset of inclusive participation by all Liberians.
7. Believe that the massive restrictions in the amended bill, as it relates to dual citizen Liberians eligibility to seek elected office and appointed government positions in Liberia, are unreasonable, arbitrary and unnecessary;
8. Believe that these restrictions have the propensity to scare away well-meaning dual citizen Liberians from returning home if they can’t see themselves as participants in the political direction of their country;
9. Believe that these restrictions also deprive the country of the inflow of much needed expertise from diaspora Liberians and possible contribution to the private sector;
10. Believe that the Bill, as submitted, will not pass the test of Referendum and will be a costly process in which scarce funds will be wasted;
11. Believe that the Bill will be subjected to lawsuits based on constitutionality violations;
12. Believe that the concern about the question of loyalty by the dual citizen Liberian, that has given rise to the inclusion if the participatory restrictions in the Bill, can be addressed more constructively; and
13. Believe that the Bill can be amended in a manner that will positively impact all Liberians.

We therefore petition that:

1. The following serve an an alternative to the amended Bill submitted for Referendum so that the true desires of Liberians are reflected in the Referendum;
2. That instead of declaring dual citizen Liberians ineligible for all elected and appointed positions, those positions be limited to President, Vice President, Senator, Representative,  and Principle Ministers;
3. That a clause be included to allow dual citizen Liberians to gain access by including a process by which they can decide to denounce citizenship of another country if they wish to be eligible to contest for or participate at these highest levels of government; and
4. That instead of denying participation in government completely, the Bill be amended to include a physical presence clause that requires dual citizen Liberians to physically reside in Liberia for a specified amount of time during a specified period before being eligible to contest for or be appointed to public office.