No sooner the legislature announced a push for 14 additional seats at the Lower House, then Dillon woke up in fears opposition to the proposal.
He condemns the House majority’s push for new seats from 73 to 87.
Montserrado County Senator Abraham Darius Dillon, has expressed opposition to the House Majority’s proposal to create 14 new representative seats.
Dillion argued the creation of additional seats violate constitutional provision.
He is not the only one in opposition to the creation of the additional seats.
Also, former House Speaker, Jonathan Fonati Koffa adds: “The House majority passed a resolution to create new representative seats, assuming powers they do not have. Article 80(e) is the controlling legal authority.”
Koffa, a lawyer by profession is mainly concerned about the Southeastern region.
He warned that the proposal would disenfranchise the Southeast region, which is already underrepresented in the legislature.
“The proposed creation of new seats is a complete disenfranchisement of the Southeasterners.”
In a Facebook post, Sen. Dillon clearly stated that the House is in complete “error.”
He highlights the constitutional aspects, pointed to Articles 80(c) and 80(d) of the 1986 Constitution, which govern the allocation of representative seats.
Dillion argued that the House Majority’s proposal contradicts the findings of the 2022 National Population Housing Census, saying: “I hold that the House of Representatives is constitutionally in error regarding the proposal of 14 new representative seats, especially when the validated 2022 National Population and Housing Census report does not support such a move.”
Dillon warned that any attempt to increase the number of representatives without adhering to the census data would violate the constitution, and also, undermine fair representation.
Both the lawmakers have meanwhile, pledged to challenge the action if the House Majority led by Richard Koon moves forward with the creation of new seats without following the proper constitutional process.
The two men are standing firmly against the proposal.
They claimed the matter would escalate into a major legal challenge if the House persists with its action to add the extra 14 seats.
Comments are closed.