Gongloe Lashes at Senate – Liberia news The New Dawn Liberia, premier resource for latest news

By Lincoln G. Peters

Monrovia, June 25, 2026 – Renowned human rights lawyer and Assistant Professor of Law, Cllr. Tiawan Saye Gongloe has criticized the Liberian Senate’s Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights, Claims and Petitions for excluding the Liberian People’s Party (LPP) from recent consultations on proposed amendments to the country’s election law.

In an exclusive interview with the New Dawn on Tuesday, June 23, at his law office in Monrovia, Gongloe described the committee’s failure to invite the LPP as a deliberate disregard for the party’s contributions to the ongoing debate, particularly its opposition to the proposed 2% electoral threshold.

“My party, the LPP, was totally disrespected by not being invited by the Liberian Senate to the hearing on the amendment to the New Election Law,” Gongloe said. “The LPP has been the first political party to publicly raise concerns about the proposed law, especially the 2% threshold. It is frustrating that the Senate would initiate such an important national conversation without inviting one of Liberia’s oldest existing political parties.”

Gongloe said the LPP has already filed a petition before the Civil Law Court seeking a declaratory judgment to have the proposed 2% electoral threshold declared unconstitutional.

He said the party remains committed to challenging the measure through the courts.

The former presidential candidate also disclosed that although he received an invitation from the Senate, he declined to attend because the letter identified him only as an “eminent citizen” and misspelled his name, while making no reference to his role as political leader of the LPP.

“They sent me a communication, but they even misspelled my name and referred to me simply as an eminent citizen,” he said. “There was no mention of my political party. I could not honor such an invitation because it disrespected both me and the LPP. Had I accepted, I would have been complicit in making my party appear irrelevant in the political process.”

He argued that the Senate should have invited him in his capacity as political leader of the LPP, Assistant Professor of Law, or former presidential candidate, rather than as a private citizen.

According to Gongloe, the LPP is among Liberia’s oldest political parties and has consistently contributed substantive views on electoral reforms.

“If the Senate had invited the LPP, we would have been represented,” he said. “Perhaps they did not want critical views. They know our party has consistently expressed independent and critical opinions on national issues.”

Gongloe noted that he has previously appeared before both chambers of the Legislature to provide expert opinions on national matters and questioned why the Senate chose not to formally engage the LPP during deliberations on the proposed election law amendments.

He also criticized the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC), Unity Party (UP), National Patriotic Party (NPP), and Alternative National Congress (ANC) for endorsing the proposed 2% electoral threshold during the Senate hearing.

“That says a great deal about their democratic credentials,” Gongloe said. “I cannot believe that political parties that have held state power, including the ANC, would support such a proposal.”

He maintained that the LPP opposes any electoral reform that limits citizens’ participation in the democratic process.

“We are opposed to anything that restricts people’s participation in politics,” he said. “Liberia has experienced conflict throughout its history because of exclusion. We should not enact laws that further limit political participation.”

The proposed amendment to the New Elections Law, including the controversial 2% threshold, is currently under consideration by the Liberian Senate following consultations with political parties and other stakeholders. The proposal has generated debate, with supporters arguing it will strengthen the country’s party system, while critics contend it could undermine political inclusion and constitutional rights.