Liberian Court Rejects Petition to Delay Elections Over Ebola

          Liberia’s Supreme Court on Saturday said it would not halt Senate elections scheduled for Tuesday, rejecting a petition calling for the vote to be delayed because of the Ebola crisis.

The court said its role was not to make decisions on political affairs. “It is not our place to decide whether it is appropriate to conduct elections at this time or any other time,” said Chief Justice Francis S. Kporkpor.

The court had suspended campaigning for almost two weeks while it considered petitions that sought to suspend voting until the Ebola outbreak was brought under control. The petitioners said they feared that the virus could be spread as people campaigned and turned out to vote in large numbers.

Two of the five justices dissented, saying the government was not prepared to conduct the elections safely. They also said that holding elections in the current climate violated civil and political rights.
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“The National Elections Commission demonstrated callous disregard for the health and welfare of the Liberian people,” said Justice Philip A. Z. Banks, who did not sign the judgment.

The chairman of the National Elections Commission, Jerome Korkoya, said in an interview before the ruling that he feared Liberia would face a constitutional crisis if elections did not go ahead and that “the government would be crippled.”

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf echoed that sentiment in another interview.

The minister of justice, Benedict F. Sannoh, accused the petitioners — prominent citizens, lawyers and members of opposition parties — of trying to force the creation of an interim government.

The court did not confirm that elections would necessarily take place on Dec. 16, suggesting that the elections might still be held at a later date.

Mr. Korkoya said he planned to meet with other members of the Elections Commission and representatives of political parties on Sunday to discuss a potential new date for elections.

Mrs. Sirleaf recently ordered a ban on campaigning in the capital, Monrovia, after the leading opposition party staged rallies and the streets filled with supporters. Critics have accused the president of trying to help the Senate campaign of her son, Robert Sirleaf. He is running to represent Montserrado County against a former soccer star and presidential aspirant, George Manneh Weah.