1935 Liberian constitutional referendum

Last updated

A constitutional referendum was held in Liberia on 7 May 1935, alongside legislative elections. [1] The changes to the constitution ensured that President Edwin Barclay remained in office without the need for the presidential elections due that year. Although it was claimed to be for economic reasons, the government feared that an election may lead to instability that would lower confidence of foreign powers and creditors. [2] The next elections took place in 1939. [3]

Contents

Background

On 26 November 1934 the Legislature approved a term extension for the President. As this required amending the constitution, article 17 of chapter V of the constitution dictated that a referendum was required, with a two-thirds majority needed for the amendments to be passed. [1]

Changes to the constitution

The referendum proposed modifying article 1 of chapter III of the constitution regarding the presidential term, whilst adding a new section to article 5 of chapter III regarding the civil service. [1]

SectionOriginal textProposed text
Chapter III, Article 1, Section 1The supreme executive power shall be vested in a President, who shall be elected by the people, and shall hold this office for the term of four years and be elected quadrenniallyThe supreme executive power shall be vested in a President, who shall be elected by the people, and shall hold office for the term of eight years. No president shall be elected for two consecutive terms.
Chapter III, Article 5, Section 2The Legislature shall pass a standing law organizing and regulating the Civil Service of the Republic, which law shall declare what offices may be controlled by the provisions of said law. The provisions of this section of the Constitution relating to tenure of office shall not apply to offices falling within the provisions of the Civil Service law.
Source: Direct Democracy

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">President of Turkey</span> Head of state and government of Turkey

The president of Turkey, officially the president of the Republic of Türkiye, is the head of state and head of government of Turkey. The president directs the executive branch of the national government and is the commander-in-chief of the Turkish military. The president also heads the National Security Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Constitution of the Republic of China</span> Supreme law of the East Asian country

The Constitution of the Republic of China is the fifth and current constitution of the Republic of China (ROC), ratified by the Kuomintang during the Constituent National Assembly session on 25 December 1946, in Nanking, and adopted on 25 December 1947. The constitution, along with its Additional Articles, remains effective in ROC-controlled territories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">President of Romania</span> Head of state of Romania

The president of Romania is the head of state of Romania. They are directly elected by a two-round system, and, following a modification to the Romanian Constitution in 2003, serve for five years. An individual may serve two terms that may be consecutive. During their term in office, the president may not be a formal member of a political party. The president of Romania is the supreme commander of the Romanian Armed Forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">President of Liberia</span> Head of state and government of Liberia

The president of the Republic of Liberia is the head of state and government of Liberia. The president serves as the leader of the executive branch and as commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Liberia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">President of Ghana</span> Head of state and head of government of Ghana

The president of the Republic of Ghana is the elected head of state and head of government of Ghana, as well as commander-in-chief of the Ghana Armed Forces. The current president of Ghana is John Mahama, who won the 2024 presidential election against then vice president, Mahamudu Bawumia, by a margin of 14.94%. He was sworn into office on 7 January 2025.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">President of Pakistan</span> Head of state of Pakistan

The president of Pakistan is the head of state of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The president is the nominal head of the executive and the supreme commander of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The presidency is a ceremonial position in Pakistan. The president is bound to act on advice of the prime minister and cabinet. Asif Ali Zardari is the current president since 10 March 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">President of Haiti</span> Head of state of Haiti

The president of Haiti, officially called the president of the Republic of Haiti, is the head of state of Haiti. Executive power in Haiti is divided between the president and the government, which is headed by the prime minister of Haiti.[A133] The Transitional Presidential Council has been exercising the powers of the presidency since 25 April 2024. It has a mandate to act that concludes on 7 February 2026.

A supermajority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level of support which is greater than the threshold of one-half used for a simple majority. Supermajority rules in a democracy can help to prevent a majority from eroding fundamental rights of a minority, but can also hamper efforts to respond to problems and encourage corrupt compromises at times when action is taken. Changes to constitutions, especially those with entrenched clauses, commonly require supermajority support in a legislature. Parliamentary procedure requires that any action of a deliberative assembly that may alter the rights of a minority have a supermajority requirement, such as a two-thirds vote. In consensus democracy the supermajority rule is applied in most cases.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elections in Latvia</span>

Latvia elects on the national level a legislature. The Saeima has 100 members, elected for a four-year term by proportional representation with a 5% threshold. An unmodified Sainte-Laguë method is used to allocate seats. The parliamentary elections are held on the first Saturday of October. Locally, Latvia elects municipal councils, consisting of 7 to 60 members, depending on the size of the municipality, also by proportional representation for a four-year term.

Estonia elects a legislature on the national level. The Riigikogu has 101 members, elected for a four-year term by proportional representation with a 5% electoral threshold. A head of state – the president – is elected for a five-year term by parliament or an electoral college. Locally, Estonia elects local government councils, which vary in size. Election law states the minimum size of a council depending on the size of municipality. Local government councils are elected by proportional representation too.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Senate of Liberia</span> Upper house of Liberian legislature

The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislative branch of Liberia, and together with the House of Representatives comprises the Legislature of Liberia. Each of the fifteen counties are equally represented by two senators, elected to serve staggered nine-year terms. The Senate meets at the Capitol Building in Monrovia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">President of Italy</span> Head of state of Italy

The president of Italy, officially titled President of the Italian Republic, is the head of state of Italy. In that role, the president represents national unity and guarantees that Italian politics comply with the Constitution. The president is the commander-in-chief of the Italian Armed Forces and chairs the High Council of the Judiciary. The president serves a seven-year term, with no term limits. The incumbent president is former constitutional judge Sergio Mattarella, who was elected on 31 January 2015, and re-elected on 29 January 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan</span> Presiding officer of the Senate of Pakistan

The chairman of the Senate of Pakistan is the president-chair of the Senate of Pakistan. According to the Constitution of Pakistan, the chairman is a presiding official and the Senate must choose a chairman and deputy chairman for a time interval of three years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Constitution of Armenia</span> Supreme law of Armenia

The Constitution of Armenia was adopted by a nationwide Armenian referendum on July 5, 1995. This constitution established Armenia as a democratic, sovereign, social, and constitutional state. Yerevan is defined as the state's capital. Power is vested in its citizens, who exercise it directly through the election of government representatives. Decisions related to changes in constitutional status or to an alteration of borders are subject to a vote of the citizens of Armenia exercised in a referendum. There are 117 articles in the 1995 constitution. On November 27, 2005, a nationwide constitutional referendum was held and an amended constitution was adopted. The constitution was amended again in a national referendum on December 6, 2015 that changed the political structure from a semi-presidential system to a parliamentary republic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Constitution of Liberia</span> Supreme law of the Republic of Liberia

The Constitution of Liberia is the supreme law of the Republic of Liberia. The current constitution, which came into force on 6 January 1986, replaced the Liberian Constitution of 1847, which had been in force since the independence of Liberia. Much like the 1847 Constitution, the Constitution creates a system of government heavily modeled on the Federal Government of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 Liberian constitutional referendum</span>

A referendum to amend the Constitution of Liberia was held on 23 August 2011. Voters chose whether to ratify four amendments regarding judge tenure, elections scheduling, presidential candidate requirements and the electoral system. The National Elections Commission of Liberia (NEC) oversaw the referendum.

The Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China are the revisions and amendments to the original constitution of the Republic of China to "meet the requisites of the nation prior to national unification", taking into account the democratic reforms and current political status of Taiwan. The Additional Articles are usually attached after the original constitution as a separate document. It also has its own preamble and article ordering different from the original constitution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tunisian Constitution of 2014</span> Supreme law of Tunisia from 2014 to 2022

The Tunisian Constitution of 2014 was adopted on 26 January 2014 by the Constituent Assembly, elected on 23 October 2011 in the wake of Tunisia's Jasmine Revolution that overthrew President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. It was passed on 10 February 2014, replacing the constitutional law of 16 December 2011 that temporarily formed the basis of government after the suspension of the Constitution of 1959.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Liberian constitutional referendum</span>

A constitutional referendum was held in Liberia on 8 December 2020 alongside Senate elections and two by-elections to the House of Representatives. It had been planned for 13 October, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Voters were asked whether they approved of eight amendments to the constitution, voting separately on each one. Although a majority of valid votes were in favour of each proposal, the two-thirds quorum was not met for any proposal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natural-born-citizen clause</span> Natural born citizen clause for executive office

A natural-born-citizen clause is a provision in some constitutions that certain officers, usually the head of state, must be "natural-born" citizens of that state, but there is no universally accepted meaning for the term natural-born. The constitutions of a number of countries contain such a clause but may define or interpret the term natural-born citizen differently. Many countries specify citizenship since birth as a requirement to hold certain offices. This is often described using the natural born phraseology and sometimes further qualified as requiring physical birth within the country's territory and/or requiring that one or both natural parents be a citizen of the country at the time of birth.

References