Patrick Moryor (Margibi Fellow)
Claim: "Two members of the Margibi caucus reject exclusive seats for women during an election."
Source: New Dawn Newspaper
Verdict: False, Margibi Caucus Did not Reject Exclusive Seats for Women
Full Text: The New Dawn Newspaper, in its April 30, 2025, edition, published a story that two members of the Margibi County Legislative Caucus have strongly rejected a call by Friday Edwin Cruiser for two of the electoral seats in the county to be exclusively set aside for women during elections.
Cruiser is the Margibi Coordinator of the National Civil Society Council of Liberia.
The article mentioned Representative Ivar Kokulo Jones and Senator Nathaniel Farlo McGill as the two lawmakers who opposed the decision.
Verification: On April 30, 2025 during the official launching and induction program of Margibi Women Alliance for Peace and Development, Cursor recommended to the Margibi County Legislative Caucus Chair Rep. Jones said that the county should reserve at least two seats for females who would want to contest as representatives in future elections, even though the country's electoral law calls for one to be elected (pass the poll system).
According to Cursor, he was inspired and impressed, and when he served as an Observer in the Sierra Leone elections, and observed that the country had transformed from 14.5% women's participation in legislative politics to 30.4% in the 2023 elections.
He expressed confidence that Liberia can do the same if the legislature decides to reserve a specific district for females only.
Sierra Leone in 2022 passed the Gender Empowerment and Women’s Equality Act of 2022, which states that 30 percent of public and private jobs must be reserved for women.
The law also Ringfenced senior positions for women in the workplace, ensuring at least 14 weeks of maternity leave, equal access to bank credit, and training opportunities.
In contrast, similarly, a law to reserve seats for women failed as the nation struggled with 11 percent women's representation in its parliament for about a decade.
To authenticate the information, we contacted the offices of McGill and Jones, however, both denied the claim of rejecting a call for exclusive legislative seats for females.
McGill clarified that after Cruiser made the plea for exclusive seats for females, he told journalists that it would be difficult for the country to adapt or practice such a tradition when the constitution of the Republic of Liberia did not guarantee such.
McGill said, "I am not in any way against female participation in legislative politics, stating he would respect and uphold any legitimate law that supports such call."
He explained that if any Bill of such comes from the House of Representatives, he would lobby with his colleagues for concurrence and approval.
On the other hand, Ivar K. Jones said he does not remember rejecting any call for exclusive legislative seats for women, adding that it is false for anyone to uprightly say that.
In a phone interview with our Fellow, Jones calls on journalists in the county to stop misinterpreting newsmakers' statements.
When the request for an exclusive seat for females was raised, Jones said he urged the group to reduce it into writing and submit it to the Plenary of the House of Representatives for onward discussion and adaptation as a Bill, and that he would support it instead.
Meanwhile, Cursor, in an interview with our fellow, explained that in past elections, he has noticed that most females who have participated in legislative politics have always found it challenging to win, even if they reach the prerequisite qualification and have money.
This, according to him, has hindered capable aspiring female leaders' progress and deprived them of inclusivity.
Cursor believed that reserving specific seats for females to contest during legislative politics would create some form of women's empowerment and create space for capable female leaders to emerge in a political environment dominated by men.
He added that not just that, but it would honor signals of inclusivity and set a precedent for other countries or national legislators, thus boosting female representation.
Conclusion: From our verifications, the claim made by the New Dawn Newspaper is false.
