29/04/2026
ORWOCH Rejects Proposed Election Law Amendments, Demands Strict 30% Gender Quota
Monrovia โ The Organization for Women and Children (ORWOCH) has strongly criticized proposed amendments to Section 4.5 of Liberiaโs New Elections Law, warning that the changes still leave room for political parties to evade the 30 percent gender quota requirement.
The House of Representatives in its 9th day sitting during the Special Session of the 55th Legislature in April took a to amend several provisions of the New Elections Law of 1986, which was amended in 2014.
โSection 4.5(1)(b) of the New Elections Law (1986), as amended through 2014, which reads:
(b) A political party or coalition in its submission to the Commission, of its list of candidates for an election should endeavor to ensure that the governing body and its list of candidates has no less than 30% of its members from each gender.
Is hereby amended, as follows:
(b) A political party or coalition participating in an election shall submit to the Commission its structure and the list of members of its governing body, which shall have no less than 30% from each genderโ.
In a statement issued in Monrovia, ORWOCH said the inclusion of phrases such as โgood cause,โ โbest efforts,โ and โsound discretionโ weakens what should be a firm legal obligation for political parties to ensure womenโs representation on candidate lists.
According to the organization, although the proposed amendment uses the word โshall,โ the additional clauses create what it described as an โescape hatchโ that could allow parties to avoid compliance and still participate in elections.
ORWOCH argued that this approach repeats the failures of past election laws, which it said only encouraged parties to merely โendeavorโ to include women without producing meaningful results.
โWe do not need laws that ask parties to โendeavorโ or โtryโ under a different name; we need a law that says: No 30%, No Ballot,โ the statement said.
The womenโs rights organization said the current proposal would allow a political party that falls short of the 30 percent quota to still contest elections if it convinces the National Elections Commission (NEC) that it made an effort. ORWOCH described that standard as subjective and unenforceable.
ORWOCH is calling on lawmakers to remove the controversial language from the bill and replace it with a clear administrative requirement that cannot be overridden by discretion.
Among its recommendations, the group wants the Legislature to strike out the terms โgood cause can be shown,โ โbest efforts,โ and โsound discretion of the Commission,โ saying they are vague and legally weak. It also wants the 30 percent quota treated as a mandatory registration requirement, with the NEC required to reject any non-compliant list.
The organization further proposed a 48-hour grace period for political parties to correct non-compliant lists, after which any party that still fails to meet the quota should be automatically disqualified from that election cycle.
ORWOCH says the proposed wording for Section 4.5 should clearly prohibit any exception, waiver, or claim of best effort, insisting that the law must provide real protection for womenโs political participation rather than symbolic language.
The statement adds to ongoing debate over electoral reforms and gender inclusion in Liberia, where womenโs groups have long pushed for stronger legal guarantees to improve representation in politics.
