03/06/2026
Inside the Magazine, District #5 Rise.
Episode #4.
๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ก๐๐ง๐ค ๐๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ.
On February 3, 2024, Hon. Prescilla Abram Cooper initiated the District "๐๐ก๐๐ง๐ค ๐๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ" to appreciate communities for their peaceful participation in the 2023 general elections. However, early interactions revealed deep-rooted leadership legitimacy issues across several communities. In response, after touring five of the communities, a decision was reached to suspend the tour and conduct a comprehensive review of all community leadership structures.
๐๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ง๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐๐๐จ๐ซ๐ฆ:
Following a robust revision of community leadership status to include various community governance frameworks, findings revealed that 16 of the now 18 communities faced serious legitimacy challenges, with some frameworks contradicting the 1986 Constitution of the Republic of Liberia, while other communities had never conducted elections since the district's establishment.
To restore democratic governance and institutional order, the office of Hon. Cooper engaged legal experts to draft a Unified District Constitution that would provide a standardized structure for community leadership and elections.
Following extensive consultations with legal practitioners, acting community leaders, stakeholders, elders, youth representatives, religious institutions, the Superintendent of Montserrado County, the Office of the Mayor of City of Paynesville, and the Office of the Commissioner of the Township of Congo Town. The Constitution was adopted by ๐๐ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐๐ฌ ๐จ๐ง ๐๐ฉ๐ซ๐ข๐ฅ ๐๐, ๐๐๐๐. This historic milestone marked the adoption of the first District Constitution of Electoral District #5, laying a solid foundation for accountable, democratic, and harmonized community governance.
๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ:
Following the adoption of the District first Constitution on April 27, 2024, an independent electoral committee was constituted by the acting District Development Council (DDC) headed by its chairperson Mrs. Elizabeth G. Conteh to conduct community's elections across the district. The Constituted Electoral Committee initially submitted a proposed budget of ๐๐$ ๐๐,๐๐๐.๐๐ for the conduct of elections.
After thorough deliberations, the budget was prudently adjusted to ๐๐$ ๐๐,๐๐๐.๐๐. Candidate Registration generated a total revenue of ๐๐$ ๐๐,๐๐๐.๐๐.
To ensure the successful ex*****on of the electoral process, the office of lawmaker made available the balance of ๐๐$ ๐๐,๐๐๐.๐๐, thereby fully covering the approved adjusted budget.
The community elections were conducted in a transparent, peaceful, and inclusive manner, resulting in the emergence of legitimate community leadership in the majority of communities within the district. This process has significantly reduced leadership disputes and strengthened reconciliation and governance across District #5, Monsterrado County.
One District, One People!
Episode #5 up next.